[AndyS]

The 146,000 chinook salmon and 1,100 steelhead trout released in the Raritan River return when mature. Meanwhile, the bureau will be concentrating on the Raritan River, a river that offers at least a 50-mile stretch with plenty of access, steadily improving water quality and already some fishing for striped bass, herring, trout and shad. Bruce Pyle, chief of the bureau, said the steelheads and chinooks stocked this year came from eggs supplied by New York from its Altmar Hatchery. Art Lupine, senior biologist in charge of the bureau's anadromous fisheries research project, said river water quality is vastly improved from what it was 20 years ago and he sees the river as having great recreational potential. "Conditions seem to suggest the river is suitable for establishing anadromous species," he said. "And we might see some male chinook salmon return in three years. They could be fish weighing from 15 to 30 pounds." The chinooks that were released in the Raritan River averaged 3.2 inches long with 58,000 stocked in 1987 and 88,000 this year. The steelheads, which averaged 9.5 inches long, were released this year. "It usually takes the chinooks about four or five years to return," Lupine said. "The steelheads, which might weigh anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds, could come back in two or three years.

I can't even get a few trout in the fall !!!!