Fall Trout Stocking Begins

Originally Posted by FASTEDDIE29

Knowing this is coming soon I actually took some time Sunday to check on a bunch of Trout stocked water. They are low, too low! Same stuff, different year. Thankfully I usually don’t start to Trout fish until the end of November. Our creeks are down to a trickle but hopefully Mother Nature comes through with a couple inches of rain sooner rather than later. Checked on a few wild trout streams in the Rt. 78 corridor and they were as dry as the desert. Not good! Let’s see what happens. I’m sure the same guys will be on the North Branch snagging the stockers with plain jigheads as they do every fall. Hopefully our game wardens can catch em’ in the act.

Understand fishery management is in a quandary when low water conditions exist in the fall as they do now. I also imagine the hatcheries need to release surplus fish to prepare for the upcoming season. If at the time of planned stocking certain waters are too low, trout should be redirected to lakes and reservoirs or streams that can support their survival to prevent people corraling fish and snagging them, especially the breeders. That's not the intended purpose of the fishery and certainly not why people pay license fees to support that kind of behavior.

Incident occurred in the different state but applies to the same situation Eddie described. I remember years ago fishing Oak Orchard in upstate New York and doing very well fly fishing with a dead egg pattern for beautiful brown trout. Six guys come along right below me, wade out into the middle of the stream I'm fishing in my line of drift using heavy duty spinning outfits and what looked like 3 oz chartreuse spros, spotting and snagging their limit of trophy browns all put on a stringer and taken from the river. Also obviously ended the bite I had going on the stretch I was fishing. Said something when they first waded out into the stretch and got the proverbial "not your river, &$#! off" reply. Real idiots. Called NYDEC but unfortunately by the time the two guys got there these six guys were already gone.

20% of the idiots that call what they do fishing ruin it for the other 80% who do it right. You see it happening call the conservation officers, they need help patrolling our waterways and so do the fisheries. Strange how the great outdoors and a beautiful fishery we have available brings the best out of most and at the same the worst out of too many.

When caught, the fines imposed should insure they'll never make the same mistake twice. Probably single biggest reason the behavior is prevalent, when caught which is rare, they end up with a slap on the wrist. Shame the outcome these fish face considering the effort the state goes through to produce them and stock them in the waterways in New Jersey. Hopefully one day the judicial system which is supposed to support NJF&G wakes up and addresses the problem. Not a difficult situation to resolve and one that should generate incremental revenues to support greater enforcement efforts. In the meantime, as Eddie mentioned, hopefully we get some rain that's desperately needed otherwise the fall stocking program will be a circus.