sea run trout

[BigRock44]

anyone ever catch a sea run trout in the area? i caught what i believe were two quite a few years ago in a tributary to the hudson river. not very big, maybe a foot long each, but a nice silvery color like a small salmon. with all the stocking in the local streams/rivers that lead to salt water, there must be some incidental catches around. and with all the hooks in the water along the coast each year it seems strange that you wouldn't hear more about them. probably some folks targeting them too, but my guess is that they are pretty tight lipped.

[Fluken-Around]

Not sure of exact details but I know years ago the state of NJ was stocking small browns in tributaries that led to saltwater attempting to get a sea run population established. Pretty sure those attempts have stopped.

[Gumada]

There are some fishermen that target them in the Raritan River. Very hush fishery...

[Billfish715]

The lower Manasquan River was stocked with a variety of browns that were raised specifically to adapt to the saltwater in the tidal area of the river and beyond. There were some tag returns which indicated a few fish acclimated to the salt. The program has since been halted with debatably unsuccessful results. The fact that trout were successfully raised for adaptability to the saltwater was probably the biggest successful claim.

The number of trout that were released versus the number of tag returns was disappointing. Continuing the experiment was not in anyone's best interest. It was not a self-sustaining program by any means. Fishing among the blowdowns and snags in the lower river as well a limited easy access to the fishing was a deterrent to any crowds which cut down on the harvest. The harbor seals and otters in the area also found an appetite for the silvery salmonoids as well.

If my memory serves me correctly, even before the Manasquan River experiment was started, there was an attempt to stock sea-run trout in the Swimming River. That was also a bust.

The best NJ has to offer is that some stocked trout do make it to the bigger rivers and are occassionally caught near the confluence of those rivers with the smaller NJ trout streams. To diverge even more, Spruce Run Reservoir in Clinton once had a developing stock of trout that would try to maneuver up a few of the creeks that fed the impoundment.

[bulletbob]

Its never worked well here.. I think they do better where the water is colder, up in northern New England and into Canada, and where there are no Bluefish,,,,

[tautog]

A few fish return but sea run fishing is rarely very good anywhere even further north. It is as much like musky fishing as trout fishing. A great day is 3 or 4 fish with at least one big fish. Most days 1 fish for a few hours of fishing is a decent result. Fishing is also best after a rain event which brings fish in from the salt. Most fisherman avoid the rivers then which leads to poor catches.

[bulletbob]

A few fish return but sea run fishing is rarely very good anywhere even further north. It is as much like musky fishing as trout fishing. A great day is 3 or 4 fish with at least one big fish. Most days 1 fish for a few hours of fishing is a decent result. Fishing is also best after a rain event which brings fish in from the salt. Most fisherman avoid the rivers then which leads to poor catches.

Pretty accurate... Its not a great fishery[from my admittedly limited knowledge] even where the survivability is better than NJ.

I have a feeling predation is high on sea run trout... They are stocked, and then few are ever seen again in the streams they should be returning to...
Too many creatures that would be all too happy to gobble them down in the ocean.....Life is a lot easier for a trout in a freshwater lake or stream where they are top dog, and in the ocean, they would be pretty far down, at least until they got some size to them... Even in big lakes up here, the predation on stocked trout is huge until they acclimate and get big..
Lake Trout, Pike, big Browns, big Rainbows, Walleyes, all gobble the stocked trout down around here.. I would imagine its far worse in salt water... bob

[Capt Sal]

I caught Sea Run Brown Trout in the Raritan bay but that was over fifty years ago!

[bulletbob]

I caught Sea Run Brown Trout in the Raritan bay but that was over fifty years ago!
Probably came down from the upper reaches of the Raritan down into the tidal zone... Think about what a trout of any species has to go through going through the tidal river, out into the bay and as far as the ocean and back!..
Blues/Stripers/Weaks[in those days]/Sharks, large Fluke, not to mention any of the predatory visitors to NJ from the south or north, as well as Dolphins, Cormorants, Seals, and Lord only knows what else!... I'd just stay in the sweet water if I were trout.... bob

[AndyS]

This what a sea run Brown Trout looks like caught near Cape Cod. There is also sea run Brook Trout called "Salters"