It all begins on April 5!
Stocked, holdover, and wild rainbows, wild browns, wild lakers, and native brookies make for a chalice of choice when the statewide trout season officially opens 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 5.
Opening day, while eagerly anticipated as the freshwater rod ‘n reel rite of spring among the legion of trout stamp holders (and those young enough or old enough not to require one) has been a mere formality over the past few decades considering that Garden State trout fishing is a year-round endeavor should one choose the pursuit.
Still, the tradition is strong, be the venue a brook, stream, river, pond, lake or reservoir that’s been dosed during the hectic three week pre-season stocking schedule which in 2025 takes place from March 17 through April 4. Like last year, 171 waters, from upper Sussex County down through lower Cape May County, will be loaded with rainbows.
Adding to the opening day juice is the Bonus Broodstock Program (see sidebar) on 10 carefully chosen ponds and lakes split between the northern, central and southern sectors of the Garden State.
Rainbows are again the mainstay, and from all indications this should be the case for the next few years at least (sound familiar?) No worries on the overall as these are hardy, aggressive and (almost) always ready to chow, sometimes within minutes after being tossed from the Pequest chariots. What’s more, they’ll make themselves at home in a wide variety of habitats and conditions, especially during the first month or two of the season, delivering the perfect put-and-take choice for urban and suburban swims.
Adding to the rainbow appeal is that they’ll survive into the autumn and beyond in those environs where habitat and water temperature/oxygen levels allow survival through the critical July/August bake-a-trout blanket.
By The Numbers
By the 8 a.m. on April 5th, a total of 184,360 rainbows will have been loosed. These will average 11.3 inches. Sweetening 2% of every pre-season load is a mix of 2-1/2- and 3-1/2-year-old spent breeders ranging in size from 16 to 26 inches and weighing upwards of 6 or 7 pounds. With an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 busters available, expect sprinklings of these into the second, possibly third week of the in-season schedule.
When all releases conclude the Friday afternoon of the Memorial Day weekend, it’s a total of 569,740. Maybe. As has been the norm rather than the exception the past decade or more the crew at the Pequest Trout Hatchery produces an overage to stocking size. In ‘24, for example, the total springtime count was 600,540, and that included an eye-popping count of 7,840 breeders. That’s an amazing 30,800 extra opportunities provided.
“This year’s trout, from the standard stockies to the breeders, are in excellent shape,” stated Pequest Trout Hatchery superintendent Ed Conley, while adding “I’m expecting not only a great Opening Day, but a great spring season. We stock up to the Memorial Day weekend, and there are plenty of rainbows to go around.”
Kudos to Conley and the Pequest crew, for sure. Extra fish this spring? The poker face superintendent shrugged, with the only the barest hint of a smile tugging the lips, ‘We’ll see. Things look good.” No promises of course, but following the years past track records, well, yeah, figure on bonus ‘bows.
However, the jacked attitude of the Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries young gun trout stocking coordinator Kyle Civalier was beyond palpable. “We have a great distribution formula and system that provides outstanding trout fishing, from an urban pond to a mountain river and everything in between,” said Civalier, adding “I’m excited for this year’s season, for sure.”
Conley’s exposition is that by the end of the third week of the in-season stocking schedule, he and the raceways crew have an overview and plan on the possible surplus, and moves are made to facilitate the additional fish to be stocked. This has been happening between the fourth and seventh week of the in-season net-snapping exercise. Those venues on the four- to seven-week schedule will see extra rainbows on the loose.
With significant changes in ‘26 already approved for the betterment of the trout stocking programs (spring, fall, winter), stayed keyed to The Fisherman Magazine early next year. If there were a catalyst to add a Howitzer boom of change to what has been decades-plus trench troutfare, it’s inbound, and you’ll read about it here.
‘Bow Ballistics
So what exactly won’t a rainbow trout whack? Sometimes it’s a chess game of sorts as per conditions and attitude. For some, it’s all about bait, others are working small spinners, plugs, spoons and jigs like the Trout Magnet and Pautzke Fire Ned. To still others, the variation of flies, in the early going namely nymphs and streamers (although some, as yours truly, enjoy getting a trout wet, as in fly), and as April melds to May and June, on dries as hatches of various aquatic insects proliferate.
When it comes to taking home some trout for dinner, particularly on a still water, the apostles (me included) of the Berkley Power Bait and Gulp Doughs and Nuggets will fill the six-trout limit stringers nearly every time. A rainbow’s penchant for spawn is in its DNA, hence the myriad variety of salmon eggs, or imitations thereof, that are in the arsenal of many April/May moving and still water anglers. Colors, sizes and scents vary; suffice to say pack several options. An egg or two under a float can be crazy effective on lakes and ponds, especially if there is a slight breeze to afford the offering a bit of movement.
| GET LICENSED! |
| Anyone age 16 and older must have a license to fish the fresh waters of New Jersey (including privately owned waters) with handline, rod and reel or with a bow. Fishing for trout or salmon in the Garden State also requires a trout stamp.
A resident fishing license (ages 16-64) costs $22.50, just $12.50 for seniors, while a resident trout stamp costs $10.50. For non-residents the cost for a freshwater license is $34 for all those ages 16 and over, with the non-resident trout stamp costing $20. |
Live bait is a crush, with fathead minnows, garden worms and baby nightcrawlers, hellgrammites, and wax, meal and butter worms all limit makers. A trio of tried ‘n true baits on lakes and ponds is the M&M (meal worm/mini marshmallow on a slip sinker rig, kernel corn – we prefer white) or a small strip of beef liver under a small bobber.
Conditions will oftentimes dictate the approach, which is why we have several vests and small box lanyards at the ready during the early April through mid-June stretch. Each are outfitted with what is determined to be the best approach to putting a few rainbows on the grill. Neither are overloaded (we rather work the water with a few select choices rather than constantly switching) and there is always a 4-weight fly outfit included should salmonid activity indicate an aquatic insect preference. Our lanyards include a carefully selected tight roster of nymphs and wets. While maybe not the perfect imitations, they have proven over the years to be buggy enough to entice the stocked ‘bows to make a play.
Open Or Closed?
There are 16 flows, some with sectional restrictions, spread between northern and central counties with stocking dates mandating a 5 p.m. opening. The list and corresponding days/locations under the 5 p.m. opening time restriction are listed on page 18 in the 2025 Freshwater Fishing Digest. The remaining statewide stocked waters are under no such clock restraint and can be fished even as the trout are being released therein. The list, with numbers, weeks and days stocked are available at njfishandwildlife.com. Go to the Freshwater Fishing link, then select the Spring Trout Fishing page.
| BROODSTOCK BONANZA |
| The incredibly popular Bonus Broodstock Program continues, with another mix of 10 ponds and lakes recipients of 400 3-year-old rainbows running from 3 to 7 pounds plus, jumbo ‘bows that, frankly, can be classified as the trout of a lifetime. Following are this year’s graced waters. The numbers of breeders in parenthesis after the pre-season allocation number. Bon trophy trout appetit!
Birch Grove Park, Atlantic County/first two ponds – 400 (50) |
Let’s face it, the closed waters are crowded, sometimes shoulder to shoulder, on the stocking day, with many arriving up to an hour or so earlier to secure a spot. Been there, done that a zillion times and eventually came to the realization that plenty survived the onslaught and made their moves, with the fishing 2 to 3 days after the release being fantastic. A rowdy spring stocked ‘25 Rainbow Ride for sure.
The daily statewide limit is six trout at 9 inches through Memorial Day, at which point it slips to four with the same length limit. The two No-Kill waters include the Ken Lockwood Gorge beat (2.2 miles) along the South Branch of the Raritan River, and the 4.2 miles on the Big Flat Brook extending from the Route 206 overpass to the Roy Bridge.
Garden State trout fishing is by no means one-dimensional. Far from it. Not into stockies and have a hankering for native brookies, wild browns and ‘bows? Then stalk the tight banks of the designated 11 Native Brook Trout Waters, where the char dominates but there are some rainbows and browns present. Want more choices? The listed 17 Wild Trout Streams include healthy populations of all three. Looking for buster browns (not the shoes)? How about the 13 flows managed as Wild Brown Trout Enhancement Streams?
Moving waters not your thing? Get the float going on the six waters designated as Holdover Trout Lakes, or the pair of Trophy Trout Lakes that also offer an exciting fishery for landlocked salmon. Salmon? Harvest restrictions on these venues is listed on Page 21 in the Digest.
