2015 Hackettstown Hatchery Stocking Summaries

[UglyStick]

A big thanks to Craig and all the folks at the Hackettstown Hatchery for all the hard work they do...

Stocking summaries, including sizes and numbers stocked in specific state waters in 2015, have been posted for 11 popular game species raised at the Hackettstown Hatchery.

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/fwfisheries/htown_stockings15.pdf

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/hacktown.htm#summaries

[NJSquatch]

always an interesting read.

crazy amount of LMB stocked in Hopatcong!

[UglyStick]

crazy amount of LMB stocked in Hopatcong!

I believe that is a result of the trapnetting study done the year before that showed not as many LMB as would have been thought / hoped

[NJSquatch]

A third of all the SMB stocked too!

Me likey

[The Birdman]

Smallmouth Bass
Lake Aeroflex 3,050 2.47" -Pretty cool !

I wouldn't mind the state dumping some smallmouth in Wawayanda. They are in there but not many.

Muskellunge Mountain Lake (Sussex). Isn't it Warren county?

[UglyStick]

Muskellunge Mountain Lake (Sussex). Isn't it Warren county?

Yep - a typo...

[Eskimo]

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Thanks for the link Uglystick. Very interesting.

In my unscientific opinion, the 5,000 pike stocked in Spruce Run are wasted. I fish that lake often and just don't see any adult pike. I know people who have caught big pike, but I haven't actually caught any pike there, myself.

I don't know where all the pike that are stocked go. My guess is the pike are being consumed by the perch.

I feel the 5,000 pike would be better off being stocked in the Passaic River to offset the increase in fishing pressure the river has experienced in the past few years.

I'm amazed Hopatcong is getting over 50,000 Largemouth Bass. I presume the bass population is lower than it could be there because the bass are having trouble feeding in the dense aquatic weeds choking portions of that lake. If that is the case, maybe their issue is one of water-quality and not bass reproduction and adding all those bass won't ameliorate the issue.

Spruce Run, being arguably the most over-fished lake in New Jersey in terms of angler hours per acre per day, could probably make better use of those bass.


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[UglyStick]

Eskimo - If not already planning to, you should attend the freshwater fisheries forum this Saturday at the Hackettstown Hatchery. You can bring up these questions / comments during the question and answer period.

[NJSquatch]

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I'm amazed Hopatcong is getting over 50,000 Largemouth Bass. I presume the bass population is lower than it could be there because the bass are having trouble feeding in the dense aquatic weeds choking portions of that lake. If that is the case, maybe their issue is one of water-quality and not bass reproduction and adding all those bass won't ameliorate the issue.


I also wonder what effect the weed harvesting has on the LMB population. Logic would say that the fry are inhabiting the same shallow water and may get caught up in the harvesters?

[bunker dunker]

there are over 65 bass tourneys on lake Hopatcong a year.mostly local clubs but still allot for that size lake.talking with the game wardens they say lmb are one of the most poached game fish on that lake.

[logs22]

I would love to see some bass (largemouth or small) stocked in Union County waters. I don't think anywhere in UC has been stocked with bass since Nomahegan got a relatively small stock in 2013 after it was dredged. We get plenty of trout but would benefit from more warmwater species, especially considering the amount of fishing pressure UC lakes/ponds get. Wish I could make it to the meeting Saturday.

[Delawareriver]

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Thanks for the link Uglystick. Very interesting.

In my unscientific opinion, the 5,000 pike stocked in Spruce Run are wasted. I fish that lake often and just don't see any adult pike. I know people who have caught big pike, but I haven't actually caught any pike there, myself.

I don't know where all the pike that are stocked go. My guess is the pike are being consumed by the perch.

I feel the 5,000 pike would be better off being stocked in the Passaic River to offset the increase in fishing pressure the river has experienced in the past few years.

I'm amazed Hopatcong is getting over 50,000 Largemouth Bass. I presume the bass population is lower than it could be there because the bass are having trouble feeding in the dense aquatic weeds choking portions of that lake. If that is the case, maybe their issue is one of water-quality and not bass reproduction and adding all those bass won't ameliorate the issue.

Spruce Run, being arguably the most over-fished lake in New Jersey in terms of angler hours per acre per day, could probably make better use of those bass.


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Don't know where the pike go in the winter as I have never ice fished it but I can say first hand while bowfishing spruce run I have seen plenty of pike most in the 20-30" range but have also seen some true monsters. There was one hanging around at the mouth of a creek two seasons ago that would easily push mid 40" and 20+lbs

[Eskimo]

Eskimo - If not already planning to, you should attend the freshwater fisheries forum this Saturday at the Hackettstown Hatchery. You can bring up these questions / comments during the question and answer period.

I'll consider it, but I don't represent any clubs and groups other than myself. I saw the invitation on the NJ Fish & game Facebook page:


A forum to discuss freshwater fisheries research, management and recreational fishing will be held on Saturday, January 30 at 10:00 a.m. at the Hackettstown Fish Hatchery in Warren County. The forum is an opportunity to learn about existing programs and share your views and recommendations. Highlights of 2015 Field Sampling Activities will be presented as well as discussion regarding Wild Trout Stream Regulations.

For more information, including optional pre-registration, visit www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2016/fshforumnorth16.htm

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2016/fshforumnorth16.htm


I can say first hand while bowfishing spruce run I have seen plenty of pike most in the 20-30" range but have also seen some true monsters.

Yeah, other people are seeing and sometimes catching them, but I'm not. Maybe my fishing style just doesn't lend itself to catching pike.


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[dakota560]

Ameliorate....that has to be the word of the day! And don't tell me 99% of the people reading this thread didn't have to google it to see what it meant.....lol! Ugly Stick thanks for the link, pretty interesting information. Never realized the hatchery pumped out this many fish. Pretty amazing numbers. ~35,000 muskies for the Delaware, never realized they stocked that many musky in the river. To all the musky pros on the site, do they spawn as well or no. And ~1.25 million walleye in the Delaware, holy crap that is an insane number of walleye. But considering Fast Eddie catches a million of them himself I guess it's necessary to give everyone else a shot. I didn't see the Delaware receiving any channels which was surprising, is it just Pa that stocks channels in the Delaware. I'd be interested in how many are released a year, has to be a fairly sizable number I would imagine.

Great information Ugly Stick thanks again for posting, definitely good to know license fees are being used in a manner supportive of our sport.

[Delawareriver]

Ameliorate....that has to be the word of the day! And don't tell me 99% of the people reading this thread didn't have to google it to see what it meant.....lol! Ugly Stick thanks for the link, pretty interesting information. Never realized the hatchery pumped out this many fish. Pretty amazing numbers. ~35,000 muskies for the Delaware, never realized they stocked that many musky in the river. To all the musky pros on the site, do they spawn as well or no. And ~1.25 million walleye in the Delaware, holy crap that is an insane number of walleye. But considering Fast Eddie catches a million of them himself I guess it's necessary to give everyone else a shot. I didn't see the Delaware receiving any channels which was surprising, is it just Pa that stocks channels in the Delaware. I'd be interested in how many are released a year, has to be a fairly sizable number I would imagine.

Great information Ugly Stick thanks again for posting, definitely good to know license fees are being used in a manner supportive of our sport.

Those waters that get huge amounts of fish if you look the majority are small fingerlings at best, the survival rate for those fingerlings are extremely low at best where as the advanced fingerlings and yearlings survival rate is much better. Yes walleyes and muskies will spawn in the river but no where enough to keep a sustainable fishery. Opposite is true for channels, they spawn very well in the river and I'm actually surprised pa still stocks them

[bigboy5522]

Why do they stock the small fingerlings if they have a low survival rate? Why not hold them till they are alittle bigger?

[Skunk City]

Remember, if it wasn't for the hatcheries raising and stocking these fish, we'd all be fishing for Bullheads and Pickerel :p.

[dakota560]

Delawareriver,

So a large percentage of the river's channel population are actually native fish? Many times I've seen pods of small channel fry along the river in the summer and knew natural reproduction took place but never thought it accounted for a majority of the population in the river. If NJ and Pa aren't stocking any numbers, then I guess the current channel population is sustaining itself. That's pretty impressive. I know last year with the cold winter we had and amount of ice there were an insane amount of channels caught through the ice. When I say caught, they were snagged by guys jigging them. If the fishery is sustained naturally, I'm actually surprised the states allow snagging. Saw guys taking 40 to 50 fish a day the fish were so stacked up in deep holes. Would be a shame to see the fishery hurt that way if it is as you say primarily dependent on natural reproduction.

[UglyStick]

To all the musky pros on the site, do they spawn as well or no.

Although they do go through the routine, true strain muskies will not successfully spawn in NJ. All of our muskies here are a result of stocking and because it takes some time for them to get big, safe & successful catch & release is crucial. Tigers are hybrids so biologically they can't spawn.

In general, pike will not successfully spawn here in NJ either. Apparent hybridization with pickerel provides some proof that there may be limited pike reproduction in the Passaic.

Walleye seem to only successfully spawn in the Delaware.

[dakota560]

Great stuff....thanks! That's a ton of walleye stocked in the Big "D" so if they spawn there as well that bodes well for the future of that already great fishery. Thanks again for the information, all really good stuff to know. Still surprised to find out the Delaware channel fishery seems to be supported by primarily if not exclusively natural reproduction. I wasn't aware of that. It's a great fishery, one I hope continues to flourish.

[Eskimo]

Saw guys taking 40 to 50 fish a day the fish were so stacked up in deep holes. Would be a shame to see the fishery hurt that way if it is as you say primarily dependent on natural reproduction.

NJ Fish & Wildlife found out about the slaughter and reacted to it.
Apparently, catfish in Pennsylvania have no minimum size and a 50 fish limit. (Fifty!) For some reason, the regulations for catfish in the Delaware defaulted to the Pennsylvania code and not the NJ code with a 12 inch minimum and a five fish limit.

http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/058/chapter61/chap61toc.html

After what happened last winter, they proposed a change to the NJ regulations for 2016.

PROPOSED REGULATION CHANGES FOR DELAWARE RIVER
Currently, New Jersey has no minimum size or creel limit for Channel Catfish on the Delaware River and Pennsylvania allows up to 50 to be harvested each day. The Council proposes a minimum size limit of 12 inches and a daily limit of 5 per day. These limits are consistent with current size and creel limits for Channel Catfish in all other fresh waters in New Jersey. The harsh winter of 2014-2015 resulted in extensive ice forming on the river from Trenton through the Delaware Water Gap. The extended ice cover and liberal regulations resulted in unprecedented numbers of Channel Catfish being harvested by anglers. The event emphasized the need for more stringent regulations.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/news/2015/fishcode_proposal.htm


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[Chrisper4694]

Why do they stock the small fingerlings if they have a low survival rate? Why not hold them till they are alittle bigger?

exponentially costs more money the longer they hold the fish

[dakota560]

Eskimo,

Thanks for the link and information. Didn't know Pa. regulations kicked in for NJ but either way it was unreal how many catfish, including some real monsters, were being taken every day. And almost every fish was snagged. Great to see NJ react quickly. I personally think with the cold weather and how quickly ice formed, every catfish in the river was in some of these deep holes to the extent guys could be snagging them to that degree in 30 to 35 feet of moving water! One guy I spoke to said there had to be thousands of channels in one of the holes I was at. Speaks highly of the health of the fishery but without the change in reg's you posted that fishery could be destroyed in it's entirety for the benefit of a few. And I'm not blaming the guys who harvested the fish. I wouldn't do it but if that's the law they're entitled to catch their limit. I was surprised for such a great sport fish the laws were that liberal and very surprised snagging was allowed, especially if the fishery is as Delawareriver said based on natural reproduction. I ran into a F&G guy at the Worthington State Park area on 1/9/16 who was just assigned to the area. We were talking about this exact point and he mentioned NJ was aware of what happened and there were most likely going to be changes. Glad to see they reacted as quickly as they have. Great news, thanks for posting.