Where are the brown trout?

[JDTuna]

No need to stock them. There are a number of rivers and streams with self-sustaining populations of wild brown trout. Some nice fish in the mix, too.

[AndyS]

There are no trout in the Raritan river below the last stocking point, just ask Mark B.

[thmyorke1]

Im sort of ok with rainbow-stocking only. This way catching browns/brooks are more rewarding.

However it would be cool if they focused more on that idea of "brown-trout enhancement", sort of like only stock browns in specific waters that have potential.

Rainbows are the least successful at maintaining a population in NJ out of the three trout (from what ive read)

Put rainbows in majority of water, but put browns in streams that have the potential to become good holdover streams, or even production streams.

[Billfish715]

To my point.......Yes, the rainbows are easier to raise, but the state did not purge the raceways because the rainbows were diseased. They got rid of thousands of brook and brown trout, however, because they were diseased. Yes, there are "native" brown trout in some places if you know where to look. Those "native" browns are survivors of trout that at one time had to be stocked by someone, somewhere.

But, what happened to all or most or even some of the thousands of purged brooks and browns that were set free? Will their offspring become "native" trout someday? The state released at least a truckload of brown trout in the Rahway River in Rahway in a stretch that was never stocked with trout. Did they swim to the Arthur Kill and become searun trout? Did any make their way up a tributary and try to spawn?

I'm just asking questions to learn if any studies were done to assess what results may have occurred because of the release of the trout in question. Are any of those that may have survived now disease-free?

Finally, if so many trout are released into a stretch of stream ( like the ones into which the diseased trout were let go ) and they are not caught, can we assume they swam off, never to be seen again? That would make me want to know if the biologists have considered just how many trout should be released into a trout conservation area in order for a reasonable amount of trout to remain and perhaps reproduce or also just swim off.