Every spring staff from the Hackettstown Fish Hatchery collect adult fish from northern New Jersey lakes to serve as broodstock for NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife stocking programs. Species collected include muskellunge, northern pike and walleye.
This year a record number of walleyes, including some close to 30 inches in length, were captured and spawned. One female, weighing more than 10 pounds, was positively identified as having been stocked 8-10 years ago!
For more information, including photos of the trophy-size fish found in Swartswood Lake, see the feature article by Hackettstown Hatchery Superintendent Craig Lemon at
http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/artwalleyerun14.htm on the Division's website.
