Trout Regs I would Prefer

[meppsman]

Trout Fishing regulations I would prefer.
Let me preface this by stating, I have been trout fishing in this state for over 55 years. I spin fish and fly fish. I never use bait. I practice Catch and release. Yes, I keep some fish (when hooked deeply and bleeding or someone asks for some trout for a dinner). I know that the states stocking program is geared to catching and keeping, not stocking and growing, because trout in the majority of rivers and streams cannot survive the summer.
April and May – 4 fish limit (reason: water temps are low enough for most fish to survive)
June – 6 fish limit; but only 2 brown trout per limit (reason: water temps approaching lethal levels for rainbows and brook trout, most will die. Browns have slightly higher tolerance and may last longer depending on how hot it is and how much rainfall occurs in June.) Some will argue it’s too difficult to distinguish browns from rainbows or brook trout, but if you fish for these trout, you should know what you are catching.
July thru September – Catch and release only (reason: In reality except for a few rivers/streams the water temperatures are too high. Hooking and fighting the few remaining trout puts too much duress on them and they die after releasing. Why not give them a break and maybe they can last through the summer. Really trying to discourage fishing for trout from mid July through September.
October thru March – 2 fish limit. Most fish will survive though this period. These are the fall stocked fish, more fun to catch then to eat. You can catch them in April and eat them. Another reason is there are not that many fish stocked and it is a one time stocking. The Pequest gets approx. 1600 fish. If 100 guys keep 16 fish through the fall, they are wiped out. Like wise on the Musky, and So. Branch; they get more fish, but are larger/longer rivers. 2600 to 2800 fish isn’t that many for these rivers if people are keeping 4 fish per outing.
Trout Conservation Areas - Raise the size limit to 18 inches for the one fish. Lets be honest, these areas are designated for catch and release. If you fish there it shouldn’t be to bring a stringer of fish home. They probably should be made fly fishing only or at least limited to lures with one barbless treble hook.

Any opions?

[AndyS]

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/contactform.htm

http://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54522


My beef is that they feel the need to stock every scum hole and duck pond with trout, they throw trout around like used tissues.

A buddy of mine said if F&G were a railroad they would still be running steam engines.

[buzzbaiter]

Originally Posted by AndyS

My beef is that they feel the need to stock every scum hole and duck pond with trout, they throw trout around like used tissues.

And why stock those scum holes and duck ponds? $$$ Those urban/suburban mud holes bring large crowds which = license/trout stamp sales. I too have wondered why they would throw hundreds of trout into a bass pond that will have trout belly up by the end of May. In all honesty it has its benefits in keeping crowds down on the rivers where real trout fisherman fish

[JIMMY L]

Ah yes,and we folks who live in urban areas should be relegated to carp and catfish. Sorry Andy,we all dont belong to private clubs and some i imagine cant travel to the pristine places you frequent. Think i'll get dressed now,go down to my local pond and catch and release some of those trout that shouldnt be stocked there! Happy Thanksgiving all, Jim.

[AndyS]

Sorry to offend Jim. Private clubs ??? Today I was on the Raritan river in Somerset. I too will travel and drive to take me to where the fish are. Glad to see the come back honestly and knowing these fish aren't going to waste.

[anthrax2244]

I believe the trout stocking program is fairly good as is. there is so much fishing pressure in "bad" places (seely's pond, speedwell lake, verona park pond etc) they probably dont have many fish surviving into the warm temps anyways. On one hand I agree with Andy, that in a perfect world, trout shouldnt be put in these types of places. However, the Pequest hatchery produces almost 600,000 trout annually, At least half of which go to places where the trout cannot survive due to high temperature/low dissolved Oxygen. If the state instead stocked those fish into the "good rivers" (i.e. pequest, musky, sbr, pohatcong creek, big flatbrook) I think they would far exceed the carrying capacity of these rivers and the fish would starve and die anyways. (Look at RVR) I've fished the sbr alot over the past 15 years and few if any fish hold over below the gorge (water temp/food). The pequest is probably the most fertile/food rich/coldest stream in the state and may be able to hold 2x the fish it gets, but thats about it. SO, I think the program as is, puts enough fish in the places that can hold them. Im fine with the limits.

[flatcreek]

I think the 30 bucks or so I spend on my license is money well spent. You can't buy a decent reel or pool for that. The state spreads the fish out pretty well and I agree, a lot of the places the fish are caught by the time the warm weather gets here and thats what they are for, to be caught.