Decent trout weekend

[JimmyL]

Stopped at a stretch of the SB I haven't fished before and had some success. 2 Rainbows and a Brown hit the same 1/8 oz. natural color rooster tail I've been catching em on the last few weeks. If they're not hitting anything else, I throw that on and it works.
Not sure if the Brown is wild or not but it surely was a surprise to catch.
Sunday, hit a new stretch on the main branch of the Raritan going for Smallies.
No luck with bass, however, had another big surprise catch in this Tiger trout below. Hit on a slow roll in.
Another beautiful weekend outside; grateful to be alive and fishing.

[thmyorke1]

nice tiger! Lower raritan often features the finest trout :D it's where the upper-class trout travel down to for a better life :cool:

[AndyS]

All that flood water really shuffled the deck, nice trout !

[thmyorke1]

That is a tiger not a brown trout. Unless you were really high up on the South Branch, it was a stockie.

3 images of trout in the post, rainbow > brown > tiger

[Gerry Zagorski]

Love the colors of those Trout, especially the last one. When you say Rooster Tail, do you mean Rooster Tail spinners? The last pic it looks like you caught on a jig head.

[tautog]

3 images of trout in the post, rainbow > brown > tiger

Oops missed that part of the post..*L*

[Doug Vitale]

No luck with bass, however, had another big surprise catch in this Tiger trout below.

I'm shocked that you got a tiger trout in the main stem of the Raritan. I don't think that the Pequest hatchery has stocked anything except rainbows for 5+ years. That tiger must have been stocked at one point by a club, but the nearest club is Lake Solitude just below the Lockwood Gorge. I'm stumped.

[thmyorke1]

I'm shocked that you got a tiger trout in the main stem of the Raritan. I don't think that the Pequest hatchery has stocked anything except rainbows for 5+ years. That tiger must have been stocked at one point by a club, but the nearest club is Lake Solitude just below the Lockwood Gorge. I'm stumped.

check out the one i caught earlier this year :cool: https://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115128

Andy got one not too long ago too.

Think Lard had one on video last year too? or was it this spring?

[Lard Almighty]

Think Lard had one on video last year too? or was it this spring?It was this spring. It seems like every non-rainbow trout I've heard about from the main stem this year has been a tiger. I wonder if they hold over better in there than the other trout species?

[bigfishy]

It was this spring. It seems like every non-rainbow trout I've heard about from the main stem this year has been a tiger. I wonder if they hold over better in there than the other trout species?

Well browns are notorious for finding a way to survive and tigers are halfskies, so why not??Browns do really well in the midd delaware , so long as they have other options to escape to if conditions require it...i think its gr8!! Andys on to something with his sea run theory

[FASTEDDIE29]

Beautiful Trout all around. That Tiger sure is pretty. The Trout will travel for sure but always have a feeder creek or undercut bank to hide in. :D

[JimmyL]

Love the colors of those Trout, especially the last one. When you say Rooster Tail, do you mean Rooster Tail spinners? The last pic it looks like you caught on a jig head.

Yes, I do mean Rooster Tail spinners. That's what the rainbow & brown hit on Saturday. Sunday, while fishing for bass, the tiger hit the grub jig that I was using at the time.

[JimmyL]

check out the one i caught earlier this year :cool: https://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=115128

Andy got one not too long ago too.

Think Lard had one on video last year too? or was it this spring?

In that forum link above a fellow member replied that it was the fourth tiger he heard caught that year. Yours and Lard's were very silvery too.

[AndyS]

I still miss seeing these caught in Bound Brook years ago when the State used to stock Brook Trout.

[Drossi]

Beautiful Trout all around. That Tiger sure is pretty. The Trout will travel for sure but always have a feeder creek or undercut bank to hide in. :D

Or an in-river spring seep. Larger rivers with deeper pools often also have areas of thermal refuge provided by springs.

[AndyS]

Or an in-river spring seep. Larger rivers with deeper pools often also have areas of thermal refuge provided by springs.

BUT the Raritan river is listed as NON TROUT, which means all trout die off in the summer, too bad the trout never attended a F&G meeting or read the compendium.

[thmyorke1]

BUT the Raritan river is listed as NON TROUT, which means all trout die off in the summer, too bad the trout never attended a F&G meeting or read the compendium.

"TM - Trout maintenance Waters designated [at N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15(b) through (g)] for the support of trout throughout the year.

NT - Nontrout Freshwaters that have not been designated [in N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15(b) through (h)] as trout production or trout maintenance. These waters are generally not suitable for trout because of their physical, chemical, or biological characteristics, but are suitable for a wide variety of other fish species."

I imagine most Non Trout waters actually feature a few spots where trout can hold over. But likely F&W needs to set the category difference somewhere. TM is likely for waters where the majority of water/area is good for trout to hold over in. And NT is just a classification where there could be trout holding over but surely not the majority of the river.

F&W and anglers like us both know trout can find a way; but just gotta categorize which waters are excellent for trout vs average.

[Drossi]

BUT the Raritan river is listed as NON TROUT, which means all trout die off in the summer, too bad the trout never attended a F&G meeting or read the compendium.

and I care about their designations in what way? I've caught plenty of holdover trout from designated "non-trout" water during or after the summer time "die off", some by accident, some on purpose. The F&G designations are mere suggestions.