A fish story,.....but I believed it.

[AndyS]

I do have more questions, some I guess may never be answered on this topic. If the surplus fish are stocked in the fall, then what does water temp of the Raritan have to do with anything. If the fish return in the winter, what does the water temp. of the Raritan have to do with anything. I'm no biologist but to put 15,000 trout in ONE spot annually kind of makes me wonder, are there NO other rivers in N.J that this could be tried on. I heard these fish have to be sight casted and are very skittish. I know a salmon run was tried on the Raritan years ago when it was a polluted mess, river runs great now, direct route to raritan bay and ocean.

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by AndyS

I do have more questions, some I guess may never be answered on this topic. If the surplus fish are stocked in the fall, then what does water temp of the Raritan have to do with anything. If the fish return in the winter, what does the water temp. of the Raritan have to do with anything. I'm no biologist but to put 15,000 trout in ONE spot annually kind of makes me wonder, are there NO other rivers in N.J that this could be tried on. I heard these fish have to be sight casted and are very skittish. I know a salmon run was tried on the Raritan years ago when it was a polluted mess, river runs great now, direct route to raritan bay and ocean.

Historically, the Manasquan R. was the only NJ river from which we received reported catches of sea run brown trout from our regular spring stockings.

That fact,…..abundant public access from our WMA up through Allaire St. Park & beyond, and because it stays cold (Trout Maintenance Water) all the way to FW license line @ Bennetts Bridge are the reasons it was chosen.

Because of the Manasquan’s cold trout maintenance water, the trout can come & go (from fresh to saltwater), as they please throughout the year,…………maximizing their survival & thus increasing the chances of them being caught. During the summer months, in the Raritan, their options for survival would be to swim upstream to the TM waters of the N. & S. Branch or to swim out to colder saltwater & stay there.

As far as a salmon run tried on the Raritan years ago, that was when we were considering stocking salmon in the Delaware River. Those fish were just an “experiment”,………….to see if we could raise them @ our hatchery. Instead of the dumpster,……we stocked them in the Raritan, because it was the closest. Never expected anything from it,….& there wasn’t.

[acabtp]

good to know the thinking behind it. thanks mark!

[AndyS]

I just thought adding 15,000 additional "surplus" trout annually to an already existing sea run program would be like adding lake trout into a lake that already has a spawning population. I don’t understand why half or some of these “surplus” trout couldn’t be put into the Raritan. If in fact these are “surplus” fish what is there to lose?
I catch trout year round in the Raritan. I don’t understand the “all my eggs in one basket theory.” I need definition of “Trout Maintenance” waters if you would be so kind Mark.

[StriperGirl]

I have bow fished that area for years, caught many of them

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by AndyS

I just thought adding 15,000 additional "surplus" trout annually to an already existing sea run program would be like adding lake trout into a lake that already has a spawning population. I don’t understand why half or some of these “surplus” trout couldn’t be put into the Raritan. If in fact these are “surplus” fish what is there to lose?
I catch trout year round in the Raritan. I don’t understand the “all my eggs in one basket theory.” I need definition of “Trout Maintenance” waters if you would be so kind Mark.

The Manasquan River's sea run brown are not reproducing, ……………I don’t think that anyone is afraid of them over populating the Manasquan River. They sea are the complete opposite of the very prolific lakers.

TP - Trout production Waters designated [at N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15(b)
through (g)] for use by trout for spawning or
nursery purposes during their first summer.
Young-of-the-year trout must be documented within the
sampled stream segment. Young-of-the-year (y-o-y) trout can be visually
distinguished from older trout in the field, based upon their size (typically less than
100 mm in length.

TM - Trout maintenance Waters designated [at N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15(b)
through (g)] for the support of trout throughout
the year. Incidence of Occurrence of trout and/or trout associated
species > 20 %

NT - Nontrout Freshwaters that have not been designated [in
N.J.A.C. 7:9B-1.15(b) through (h)] as trout
production or trout maintenance. These waters
are generally not suitable for trout because of
their physical, chemical, or biological
characteristics, but are suitable for a wide variety
of other fish species. Incidence of Occurrence of trout and/or trout associated species < 20%.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/cwfmp/33-52.pdf

TM water on the N. Branch ends @ the Rt. 512 near Far Hills. TM water on the S. Branch ends @ just above the RT. 31 Bridge, Flemington. From those points, downstream to the freshwater license line @ Landing Lane Bridge, New Brunswick the water is NT.

Trout, of course, are often caught in NT waters in the colder months. And, I don’t doubt that trout are, occasionally, caught in NT waters in the summer. Where, they have sought out & are basically trapped, @ a coldwater spring / seep,……………….but they are few & far between.

The sea runs best chance for growth & survival is in the Manasquan Rivers’ TM water from Route 9 all the way down to the freshwater license line @ Bennetts Bridge in our WMA.

[Mark B.]

Oh, yeah......yesterday, I caught (Yo- Zuri) & kept one those prolific lakers
(22") from RVR's shore.

Also, C & R'ed a 15" rainbow.

[tautog]

Few fish for them correctly so few catch them. I learned from Paul Ripperger and usually have some measure of success when I give it a try. Fish immediately after a rainstorm as increased fresh water seepage into the salt attracts fish to run up river. No one wants to do this because the river is a swirling mudhole and they can't see any fish in these conditions. Wait till it lowers and clears and fish will be spread out in the deepest holes, moving in only low light conditions. In these conditions, spawn is the best bait, followed by worm and killies.

If you don't have good conditions working the lower tidal part between Brice Park and Lightning Jacks can produce as the fish are staging to run the river. Lures are a better bet down here as you are more covering water than working holes. Don't fish for sea runs much anymore, but the few successful guys that do, follow these generalizations and catch. Most are sea run browns, there are a few sea run rainbows and the occasional sea run brookie. Browns get huge, I had one over 30" once, rainbows not so much, never seen one over 22".

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by tautog

there are a few sea run rainbows and the occasional sea run brookie.

If we can’t use them in our inland waters, for a number of years now, we stock our surplus rainbows & brookies in 2 other NJ coastal streams.

The rainbows go in the Hockhockson Brook, Tinton Falls,....as there were reports that a fishing club had stocked steelheads there in the early 1980’s, that resulted in some returns.

The brookies go in Toms River,…..as there have been reported catches of sea run brookies (salters), there.

We don’t raise 15,000 each of the above two species to 8” as we do for the Manasquan sea run browns.

These rainbows & brookies usually average around 5”,………….& often there are 10’s of thousands of them.

And,…………any surplus 5” browns go to the Manasquan in addition to the abovementioned 8 inchers.

[surfrod]

While I've never caught a searun out of the Hock, I can say for sure the surplus bows winter over nicely.

I also do know a couple of guys who *have* caught bows in the Navesink. Not many, but salt-adapted (silvery and definitely in saltwater).