Trout Union County

[Suntzu]

Had a few hours of conference calls Friday so I took them from the car while following the stocking truck. Interesting, stocked places I thought they wouldn't, did not stock places I assumed they would, put numbers in spots not heavily fished, but 1 net in places that are very heavily fished was interesting
Caught 43 trout in last 24 hours, half moved to spots in same body of water were they can hold over

[Suntzu]

20 more captured and relocated
Almost no one out fishing today

[FASTEDDIE29]

Buddy!!!! Sounds like great stream catching to me. I hope you relocated those fish down a ways. Oh and, SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, you probably don't wana announce that your transporting Trout all over the place. Hahaha!!!

[NorthJerzyG]

How exactly are you relocating them? Where are you moving them?

After my experience yesterday helping stock, I learned one thing. "Truck chasing" is definitely frowned upon by the stocking crew............

[Suntzu]

I have an insulated aerated large tank that I use at other tines for live bait that can easily transport them. I pull them out of one part of the river and put them in another where they have the opportunity to hold over. Have caught brown trout this year that were relocated last year. Relocation points are not terribly far and in between stocking points, just better places but too out of the way to stock

Hit 9 different spots today, caught at each, no one else fishing. Still a lot of trout out there.

My following of the truck was not welcome. As long as I stayed out of the way I frankly could care less if they were happy or not happy with me following; and their displeasure with me following was for the same reason as most, no one wants someone else watching while they do their job. That being said I only followed for awhile, about 1/4 of the route, because it got boring

[Suntzu]

See is this 2015 Union County brown posts

[acabtp]

I have an insulated aerated large tank that I use at other tines for live bait that can easily transport them. I pull them out of one part of the river and put them in another where they have the opportunity to hold over. Have caught brown trout this year that were relocated last year. Relocation points are not terribly far and in between stocking points, just better places but too out of the way to stock

hey, here's an idea... how about you stop doing that and don't do it again. NJ doesn't need any more "bucket biologists" :mad:

For the protection of the state's freshwater fisheries resources a fish stocking permit from the Division of Fish and Wildlife is required prior to introducing any fish, including their fry or eggs, into any waters, regardless of ownership. In order to reduce the risk of the introduction of disease and/or parasites fish must be purchased from a Fish and Wildlife "approved hatchery source."

The release of any fish from private aquariums, food markets, or the transfer of fish from one waterbody to another, is expressly forbidden and poses series threats (transfer of disease, parasites, or introduction of invasive species) to the state's fishery resources. The introduction of even commonly encountered fish species can pose a threat to established fish populations, resulting in increased competition, stunting, transfer of disease, or parasites resulting in a decline in the overall fishery. A fish stocking permit assures against the release of invasive fish species, minimizes the risk of disease or parasite introduction, assures fish are stocked at proper sizes and rates, and that the stocking is consistent with established management goals for specific waters.
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/fishperms.htm#stocking


if you want to help stock, volunteer
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wcchome.htm

[Suntzu]

Hey how about you read my post and don't lecture me. I do not move fish from one body of water to another I move them within the same body of water breaking no law or reg and as such will continue to do as I please

[AndyS]

I wouldn't want to get caught with 43 trout in my truck :confused:

[AndyS]

So let me get this strait. You have taken it upon yourself to decide where trout in a certain section of river should be stocked by catching them, putting them in your truck and relocating them. Having total disregard for anyone who has purchased a fishing license and trout stamp.
You think your methods surpass the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and New Jersey Department of Fish and Game.
You have obviously come to the conclusion that your methods out weigh any and all thought process by the above entities.

You got balls brothah !!!

Maybe you should attend a Fish and Game Council meeting and sit down in front of Dave Chanda and the rest of the New Jersey Fish and Council and tell them what you are doing.

Or go to plan B and file for a stocking permit and purchase your own fish.

[jimcnj]

Where in Union County are trout going to hold over?
The storm sewer also called the Rahway river?
Surprise Lake? I'm curious.

[Suntzu]

I never had 43 trout in my truck, never had more than 6 as that would be illegal
The places these fish are placed are available to the angling public and in clearly posted trout stocked waters
They are moved, in most cases witjing eyesight of where they were caught, to locations where they will not die in 3 weeks due to heat, or end up on ice in Elizabeth at a market for sale
What I am doing is no different than anyone who catches a trout and them release it
Guess it would be better that I posted pictures or videos of my heroic catches rather than try to improve the fishery in my urban oasis like the do on the SBR, Flatbrook, Musky and other fancy places
Done

[AndyS]

I'm serious. Please attend a Fish and Game Council meeting and sit down and tell Dave Chanda, the head of New Jersey Fish and Game, what you are doing,
make sure Lisa Barno is there also, I think they would love to hear what you are doing to improve trout fishing in New Jersey.
You can also reach out to Rahway chapter of Trout Unlimited and run it by them also.

[Suntzu]

Andy in all seriousness they are welcome to come speak with me anytime but I do not have time to attend their meeting nor do I believe they would pay much attention to the Rahway river. The rivers water quality is much improved in the last few decades but silting has left much of it nothing more than a meandering mud puddle. Some stretches are different. I will not trout fish again this year two weeks from now; but the fish I have spread out will keep the kids in town fishing through the summer trying to catch these trout as I did 35 years ago, many will catch their first trout in a fly rod in this way

I know the guys in that group, many live in my neighborhood and I have known them for years and appreciate the things they do

I am comfortable with what I do and will not change the practice. It's right in every way

[justin1982]

How do you know where a suitable place for trout to holdover is? Not trolling here, just wondering

[Matt A.]

i've caught half a dozen brown trout in green brook and the cranford section of the rahway river this spring, i think they must be from last year but who knows. might be a coincidence but all were near a waterfall

[Eskimo]

.


I just have this image in my head of Suntzu's Fish Taxi Service.

He pulls over along the stream and the fish hail him down and say, "Upstream please" and climb into the back seat.

http://pecheur.info/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fish-driving.jpg

[jimcnj]

i've caught half a dozen brown trout in green brook and the cranford section of the rahway river this spring, i think they must be from last year but who knows. might be a coincidence but all were near a waterfall

My guess is that those Brown trout were stocked in Echo Lake in the Fall. They got to the Rahway via Nomahegan Brook.

[Mark B.]

The Rahway River has no holdover trout (trout maintenance) water:


RAHWAY RIVER

SOUTH BRANCH
(Rahway) - Source to Hazelwood Ave., Rahway FW2-NT
(Rahway) - Hazelwood Ave. to mouth SE2

MAIN STEM
(Rahway) - Upstream of Pennsylvania Railroad bridge FW2-NT
(Linden) - Penn. Railroad bridge to Route 1&9 crossing SE2
(Carteret) - Route 1&9 crossing to mouth SE3

“FW2” means the general surface water classification applied to those fresh waters that are not designated as FW1 or Pinelands Waters.

“NT” means nontrout waters. “Nontrout waters” means fresh waters that have not been designated in N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15I through (i) 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.

“SE” means the general surface water classification applied to saline waters of estuaries.

The above excerpted from http://www.nj.gov/dep/rules/rules/njac7_9b.pdf

[15FOOTER]

I think your doing a great job! I do it all the time! Might relocate some in the raritan in the edison/nb area if they can free themselves from the #4 gammy. I move stockies in the same river all the time.

[FASTEDDIE29]

The Brown trout stocked in the Rahway river at St George's ave and down have held over and are doing well. I visit my pet Browns occasionally. They are surviving on crayfish, killies, freshwater shrimp and assorted bugs. A few of them made it up to the Robinson's branch that comes from Milton lake. They are doing just dandy. Please release them if you catch them. Let's see how big we can grow our local Brown population. This statement is all fact!

TIGHT LINEZ!!!

[Suntzu]

Yes Eddie they are and are thriving
In most of the Rahway dissolved oxygen in summer is too low for trout but not everywhere and in that stretch, as well as certain sections upstream in Winfield, Cranford and Springfield; with deeper holes near seeps and springs, and even by storm water drains which constantly spill very cold groundwater; trout do well eating flatheads, nymphs and other bugs etc

[Mark B.]

Sure, trout stocked anywhere in the fall will be there the following spring, as the water is cold during that entire period.

“Holdover”, refers to the summer. Will the water remain cold enough for the trout to holdover the critically warm summer months.

In some NJ Non-trout waters, there are no doubt, some cold water springs / seeps that allow a few trout to holdover the summer. But those few trout does not a viable population make.

[Matt A.]

the green brook wasn't stocked in the fall was it?

[jimcnj]

I want to believe there are holdover trout in Cranford ,but I still heavily doubt it.

[Suntzu]

Sure, trout stocked anywhere in the fall will be there the following spring, as the water is cold during that entire period.

“Holdover”, refers to the summer. Will the water remain cold enough for the trout to holdover the critically warm summer months.

In some NJ Non-trout waters, there are no doubt, some cold water springs / seeps that allow a few trout to holdover the summer. But those few trout does not a viable population make.

Absolutely true
There are a few places where they can hold over with sufficient temps / O2/ cover and forage; but are talking a couple of dozen trout throughout the river not a real population

[youngdumbandfulloffish]

I need to start fishing with fast eddie or Suntzu. I've been fishing the Rahway river from springfield to rahway and have had very little luck.

Suntzu is moving them to a location I will find! (I C & R so your pets are safe)

[Suntzu]

I need to start fishing with fast eddie or Suntzu. I've been fishing the Rahway river from springfield to rahway and have had very little luck.

Suntzu is moving them to a location I will find! (I C & R so your pets are safe)

Go get them :)
I don't know how your not catching, in Springfield at a super well known spot I could have caught 70 last week, I watched them swim around in 3 ft of water in a ten by ten pool. I moved a few, but then the Carnivora moved in. All the popular spots in Springfield, Cranford, Winfield, Clark and particularly Rahway hold fish

[justin1982]

I'm still not getting this. Why do the fish have to be relocated, wouldn't they naturally swim to cooler water?

[GDubya07]

Go get them :)
I don't know how your not catching, in Springfield at a super well known spot I could have caught 70 last week, I watched them swim around in 3 ft of water in a ten by ten pool. I moved a few, but then the Carnivora moved in. All the popular spots in Springfield, Cranford, Winfield, Clark and particularly Rahway hold fish

I fished Echo lake 1 time sucked , then went over to Clark popular spot (10 minutes from my house-:D ), did get a couple 2 weeks in a row and last week finally crushed em , me and my cousin had 15 all rainbows on powerbait, 1 on a worm another on a spinner only keeping 6 , released the rest . The worm/spinner were in there for a few they had pink meat. Not a holdover by any means , water was low

I just cant time it to get my nephews on a good bite , it is there first time fishing and just want them to catch a fish. Going to try springfield and cranford spots next. After about 7 years finally getting back into trout fishing and enjoying it all over again

GDubs-:cool:

[Suntzu]

I'm still not getting this. Why do the fish have to be relocated, wouldn't they naturally swim to cooler water?

They cannot blocked by multiple dams

[justin1982]

Oh ok, so I guess my next question would be why aren't the holdover places stocked so there's a variety of year round trout fishing? Again, not trolling, just wondering

[Suntzu]

Because the decision on where to stock is not made in the basis of capacity to holdover but on a criteria of factors including amount of public access, ease of stocking, equitable distribution and sufficient water to sustain/ hold fish in April and May. Frankly, these are the correct criteria in deciding where to stock non holdover streams with trout and the state does a good job
One building concern, in very slow moving sections of the Rahway river increasingly a material percentage of stocked fish are taken by cormorants. My basis for this conclusion is not scientific only observational. Thankfully there are only a few places where this is an issue. At Milton or Echo Lake it can be something to behold

[Billfish715]

Okay, so somebody wanted to spread fish to where they could live longer. Why all the hatin'? The Rahway used to have rock dams, and stretches that were maintained by local kids and their parents. There was a massive river cleanup around the Morris Avenue bridge many, many, years ago. It got great media coverage (in the papers back then). Trash was hauled out and wing dams were built with the available river rocks. That was then. There were stretches of the river below the Drescher Dam that were made very fishable with the same methods. I know of one very popular trout guide out West who was a mainstay on the Rahway River when he was a kid. It's where he learned his craft. Everyone starts somewhere. For lots of guys my age, it was where we went on our Schwins at 5:00A.M on Saturday mornings and after school.

I don't understand the opposition to transporting live trout to places where they can swim and perhaps be caught again rather than just letting them suffocate in the oxygen depleted waters. Isn't it the same as catch and release? There are lots of places that get stocked by the state that are little more than puddles or trickles that dry up in weeks. What happens to those trout when the weather warms? Given the fact that so few fishermen are out on the stream, it's just throwing good money after bad especially if the fish are put in areas that won't support them if they are not caught.

The problem here is not that somebody chose to do what he thought was a good deed, but that he made it public! Those of you who have stocked trout know that without a CO leading the way, the stocking is whimsical. The drivers have a route and numbers of fish to stock at each spot. But again, if he doesn't know the area well enough, it's still up to him and his volunteer (if he has one) to get the trout in and get back to the hatchery in a timely fashion.

Why can't the Rahway hold fish into the summer and beyond? Why not give the kids a chance to find them? Stop the hatin'! If I didn't know any better, I might say that Suntzu is practicing conservation. How is he not? Just think about that one word......conservation.......of a resource, of a sport, of another generation of fishermen!

[AndyS]

I'm not hating at all. BUT, there are certain ways of doing things. The vigilante approach is putting a band aid on a band aid. I say pool the resources, get the Watershed people and TU involved. I understand this is a long drawn out process but will yield better results in the long run.
Sometimes you just have to connect all the dots, bring all the people together.

[Billfish715]

Suntzu, Andy's advice is sound. The process takes a long time to change but it can be done. The weekly ritual of stocking trout is, in many ways, just a job. It takes individuals with a passion for fishing to break the mold. Call the CO for Union County and meet with him for a tour of your area. Share your concerns for where the fish could be and should be put. I'm not sure of when or where the last TU event on the Rahway was held, but try to contact them through their website. You are not asking for more trout, just for more trout to be stocked in better ( more trout suited ) areas. All it takes is one person with a strong desire to get things rolling. Ask Andy. I'm sure that his river clean ups started with removing one tire from a stream and look at where it's taken him!

[Mark B.]

There are 27 stocking points on the Rahway River. Each point receives 2 – 5%of the entire truckload of trout. Looks like NJDF&W already spreads them out well.

As very few trout holdover, the idea is for anglers to catch & keep the majority of trout before they succumb to the warm water temps.

[GDubya07]

Suntzu , next time just dont make it public on a board like this , right, wrong or indifferent not everybody will agree with what you are doing. Take Billfish and Andy's advice and talk to the Union County CO about your concerns.

But it is OK to tell me were you put the fish -;)

GDubs-:cool:

[youngdumbandfulloffish]

I think waders would help. I also fish a lot with rooster tails. I'm not much of a bait and wait guy. Casting powerbait and waiting doesn't really do it for me.

[Suntzu]

Will never start a post like this again

[Suntzu]

They stocked today
I went fishing in 7 spots in Union county
I caught a bunch at each
That is all

[Suntzu]

Went looking for Union County strange today in the two hours I had. Fished only spots I had never fished before in my life. Caught 27 trout. No one must fish in Springfield as I found two spots, stocked nicely, that had not been fished in at least three weeks likely not at all this year

[GDubya07]

Fished today In Springfield off of Morris ave on the borderline of Union ( the old Money store 5 minutes from his house) for about 1 1/2 hrs, fished on the parking lot side not the park and right next to the bridge - typical spot were everyone fishes, took my nephew for the 3rd time in his life ( he is 9 ) with 0 fish for him ,I feel really bad for him and would love for him to just catch one.

The closest we got he threw a worm as soon as it hit the fish came up crashed it, bit the worm in half and that was it.The kid is a natural caster and cast's like a pro for his third time out and don't want to lose him but he keeps coming back and I just need 1 for him.

I was throwing couple of spinners, rapala's zilch, he was using worms, salmon eggs and power bait nothing. Saw 1 caught underneath the bridge on the otherside and it was caught on a salmon egg. Fish were breaking water most of the time when we were there just couldn't get them to bite what we had.

Before we left we cleaned up a little garbage left by people (it is amazing to me that people just leave and throw there garbage everywhere especially when there is a garbage can about 100 feet away) and to show my nephew how to take care of a resource and not be a gavone/white trash that do this.

Anyway glad to get some quality time with my nephew and I just want to get him his first fish. What really sucks is when I go without him I catch fish, last week in Clark Union County Park me and my cousin 17, 13 on power bait couple on spinners and 1 on a worm . Then a week before I got a couple and the week before that got a couple.

Wish me luck with my nephew and hopefully I get his first trout before this season is out and he doesn't lose interest in fishing

Good Luck Suntzu and Tight Lines peeps - I actually took your advice last week to take my nephew here and if anybody has any suggestions ( In Union County ) from were to catch just one I will take it ,I am desperate

GDubs-:D - I am officially back into trout fishing after leaving it for about 7 years

[Suntzu]

Check your PM's