Quote:
Originally Posted by AndyS
Looks like ONLY rainbow trout for the next 5 YEARS !!!
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Andy is spot on with that statement. The Div. has no intention of introducing any new stock into Pequest for at least the next 3 years, and even if they did at that time import some fertilized eggs from elsewhere it would still be an additional 2 years before those fish were of stocking size, so 5 years appears to be the minimum time frame for rainbows only.
That aside, someone had posted awhile back asking about the possibility of any broodstock this spring. The answer is yes, both the Bonus Broodstock Lake program as well as some larger fish for most other waters will be in place. The caveat though is that for TP waters any larger fish will only be 2 y/o at an avg. 14-16 inches. Still respectable sized fish just not the jumbos we've seen in past years, however hopefully that situation will be better next spring as the Pequest production cycle fully recovers from last year's problems.
For TM and non-trout waters there will be both the 2 y/o fish as well as a small number of 3 y/o fish averaging 17-19 inches. The reason for those 3 y/o fish not being put into TP waters is that although they have consistently tested negative for furunculosis they were still in the hatchery during the outbreak and may have been exposed to the pathogen. As such they are considered potential carriers and under the Div. guidelines cannot be stocked into any designated TP waters.
The full 2015 stocking schedule should be available on the Div. website within the next 7-10 days, but for anyone who might like a preview you can take a look at the 2013 stocking schedule found here...
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2...on13-sched.pdf
With only a few very minor alterations the numbers and locations are the same for this year. There are a few waters that will see very minor total numbers changes for the spring season from the 2013 schedule, we're talking only about 20-30 fish per waterbody for the entire spring season.
Also the Bonus Broodstock Lake schedule will be posted for those interested. This years list consists of... Amwell Lake in Hunterdon Co.-50, Barbours Pond in Passaic Co.-50, Echo Lake in Monmouth Co.-50, Giampetro Park Pond in Cumberland Co.-50, Holmdel Park Pond in Monmouth Co.-30, Oak Pond in Camden Co.-50, Ponderlodge Pond in Cape May Co.-50, Seelys Pond in Union Co.-30, Spooky Brook Park pond in Somerset Co.-50, and Sylvan Lake in Burlington Co.-50.
