4/20 Trout Grand Slam!

[Lard Almighty]

I originally wasn't going to go fishing today with all the rain we had last night, but since it was a nice day I decided to make the drive to some smaller waters to try for some trout. First stop: Peapack Brook. Water was up a little and stained, but very fishable. The trout were behaving strangely; there were a lot clustered in the deep pools, but they were hugging the bottom and mostly inactive. If they hit at all they were lazily tapping at the bait. It was only in the small pockets with swift water where I was able to find some willing biters. I picked away and managed 3 rainbows, 3 brookies, and 1 small brown. All came on a gold panther martin, except for two brookies which fell for the old white Mr. Twister.

Now a brown, brook, and rainbow is normally considered a slam, but a true grand slam has four things involved. That's where things get interesting.

I decided to stop by Natirar on my way back. Water was even murkier than at Peapack Brook, but visibility was still okay. I worked a lot of water and managed two small browns. Down past the bend along the road in I hooked what I thought was a third. As I was bringing it in, though, I noticed the colors looked a bit strange. When I finally got it to my feet, I realized I was looking at a wild tiger trout! Somewhat less importantly, the fish brought me to 10 on the day, the first time this year I've hit double digits in fish caught. Never had I been so excited to catch a 5 inch trout. After snapping a quick photo it was released, and I left, knowing that I would not be able to top that.

I've been fishing for trout in NJ for about 25 years, and in all that time I have only caught one other wild tiger trout. Has anybody else landed one of these fish?

[The Birdman]

sick fish!
That spinner your using is my absolute favorite...gold w/black and yellow dot on it.

[NorthJerzyG]

Awesome, nice lookin fish!!!

[FASTEDDIE29]

WOW!!! Truly the GRAND SLAM of trout. Only caught 1 in my 27 years of fishing. They are AWESOME looking and feisty!!! SWEEEEET!!!

[Mike M]

Beautiful little fish. In fifty years of trout fishing I have never caught a tiger trout.

[basspilot]

Beautiful fish! This looked like something I caught in the saddle river a few years back but more of a rainbow pattern on it.

[tautog]

The true slam is brown, rainbow and brook trout, all wild. Given where you fished, you did not have a wild rainbow and may have had wild browns and brookies, but given your incredibly rare wild tiger, you get a pass.

[Billfish715]

The fact that the fish was small poses an interesting scenario. Was it wild? If so, it is a cross breed between fish already in the system somewhere. It could be something the Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists might want to look into. The only other tigers that I've seen or heard of were stocked by the state or private hatcheries. The other possibility is a private stocking by someone or a club, possiblly upriver at Ravine Lake. In any case, it's a nice catch. It's one that would have gone unnoticed years ago. The internet and cell phones have changed things a lot. Thanks for the post. Peapack was low when I checked it on Friday. You are right about them hanging tight to the cover. That stream makes me pull out what hair I have left on my head sometimes. It becomes a challenge that the trout lay down. They have really tested my patience and skills. Getting the right drift and right bait and right presentation can be one of the most frustrating experiences of fishing. It's a tiny stream that gets a lot of pressure which also adds to the challenge.

[buzzbaiter]

A few of my tigers and my wild slam from one stream from yesterday. As you can see, I am very diverse. Its all fishing to me and all fun. Don't care if I'm fly rodding for sunnies or throwing buzzbaits to pickerel or spinners for smallies or flies for trout, its a good to me. All released to fight another time.

[Lard Almighty]

I think this is a good sign. It means the upper North Branch is supporting breeding populations of both brown and brook trout, which means the water quality is excellent and the river is healthy. Given the size of the fish and the condition of the fins, I highly doubt what I caught was a stocked fish.

Buzzbaiter, nice tigers! What river(s) did you catch them from? The only other stream I've caught a wild tiger from is a small stream that feeds Mulhockaway Creek.