While the spring kickoff is tradition to some, the fall trout stock is the true bounty to others.
In a 32-day flick-of-a-Mepps follow-up to the wildly popular two-week fall trout stocking program, the New Jersey Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries is unleashing 4,390 well-muscled fast ‘n furious 2-1/2-year-old rainbow trout the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving Week in 18 ponds and lakes throughout 11 counties from Sussex to Cape May as part of its winter trout stocking gig.
The October program saw 20,590 2-1/2 year rainbows, with approximately 1,000 17- to 21-inch spent breeders weighing to 5 pounds in the mix, liberated in 37 swims in 20 of the Garden State’s 21 counties. In an amalgam of 17 rivers and streams and 20 still waters, the autumn exercise appealed to a cross section of the trout stamp buyer list, with those preferring the pulsing of currents especially graced with big numbers of rainbows.
And well it should, as, save for when buds have turned to blossoms, there is no more beautiful time to have the flows tugging at shins and thighs.
Why Not NJ?
The winter program, now entering its 17th year, was the brainchild of now-retired principal fisheries biologist Bob “Pappy” Pason, who after realizing the mushrooming popularity and success of the Indian Summer event, had an epiphany while ice fishing a venue in neighboring Pennsylvania back in the late 1990s. The trout coming through the holes being holdovers from an earlier late autumn stocking, Pappy figured “Why not in New Jersey” and explored the idea with bureau hierarchy and Pequest Trout Hatchery superintendent Jeff Matthews (also now retired).
There was no problem with having enough fish (in the case of what was to be a late November program these would be ‘bows) as the highly efficient facility was consistently producing thousands more trout beyond its annual baseline number. It would be a seamless procedure. “The winter program would be a great follow-up to the fall stocking in expanding trout fishing opportunities,” opined Matthews. “And we had empty raceways to accommodate the rainbows.”
The venue formulation would consist strictly of lakes and ponds, a fair percentage within reasonable distance to populated areas. Ultimately approved and implemented, the first winter stocking occurred the final week of November into the first week of December, the carefully chosen 24 still waters statewide dosed with 12,940 ‘bows averaging 11 inches, approximately an inch longer and a tad heavier than the standard spring stockie. A percentage bore jaw tags, with receptacles set at a cross section of venues north, central and south. The returns would be one of the measures as to the program’s popularity.
To say the program was eagerly received would be an understatement, especially where the southern tier county waters were concerned. Tag returns reached an almost unheard of 38 percent in the two southern swims that were outfitted with receptacles, and for the first time in the history of trout stocking in the Garden State, South Jersey freshwater anglers were able to ice fish for trout in their “home” waters.
A win-win all around, but improvements were in the offing.
New & Improved
Tweaking and fine tuning occurred during the next few years, mostly from angler input. The two most important being re-scheduling the stocking for the week of Thanksgiving, the move to stock bigger (albeit much fewer) rainbows, and switching some of the venues to the October roster. “The holiday week was ideal because kids would be off from school and it would give families who liked fishing an opportunity to be on the water together at a time not associated with trout fishing,” said Papson. “Plus, any rainbows that weren’t caught would be available on those lakes where ice fishing was allowed.”
The second upgrade was the decision in to stock the “Terrible Twos” – these were rainbows that were anywhere from 4 to 6 inches longer, and on average more than double the weight of those being released under the original program. Again, the Pequest Hatchery was quick to make the necessary scheduling adjustments and raceway accommodations, and it was all systems go. This was a significant change, as it more than slightly halved the numbers of fish being stocked.
“Direct angler input via a poll we offered indicated that the overwhelming majority of respondents wanted bigger trout even if it meant a reduction in the overall amount, explained Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries senior biologist Ross Shramko. “It was a clear indication that for the winter stocking as with the fall stocking it would be more about quality rather than quantity.”
In 2016, the third change was the switching of six lakes and ponds to the October schedule. The change alleviated the problem of early ice and the subsequent shutting down the fishing until a thaw that was significant enough to bare the water, or the 99.9 percent scenario of no rod ‘n reel access until the following spring, most likely opening day because of the three week pre-season stocking closure. Ice fishing was not permitted on these swims, so liberating the trout during October provided weeks of fishing as a hedge against a late fall/early winter freeze.
Winter Workings
Late November waters are at prime trout feeding temperatures. Bait, live or otherwise, that includes the likes of fathead minnows, mealworms, garden worms, baby nightcrawlers and wax worms, Power Bait and Gulp Dough, salmon eggs and Gulp Eggs, corn and Gulp Corn, the M&M (meal worm/miniature marshmallow) will be inhaled. Spinners, spoons, small plugs, plastics such as the Trout Magnet, all will certainly pique rainbow interest.
Our favorite method when breezes are at a minimum (and there is plenty of space left, right and behind) is to break out the fly rods and strip Woolly Bugger, Mickey Finn and Matuka streamers, or bright wet flies like the Queen of Waters or White Miller, or a meaty mouthful like a Woolly Worm wet.
It’s far from mosh pit action, though. Sure, more often than not the rainbows will bite with gusto and utter abandon, and other days will prove persnickety. This is especially true when an extended (three days or more) cold front sets in and drops water temperatures. It will take experimenting with different baits, different colors or sizes or patterns, and varying the rates of retrieve.
The winter stocking fills a freshwater fishing niche on those still waters that are otherwise lean this time of year. It also fills a special need for anglers who cannot or choose not – for one reason or another – to fish the streams and rivers dosed during October.
| STOCKING SCHEDULE |
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The 2018 November winter stocking will go as follows (county and trout numbers in parenthesis). Monday, November 19: Green Turtle Pond (Passaic County/320); Silver Lake (Sussex County/290); Lake Aeroflex (Sussex County/360); Little Swartswood Lake (Sussex County/340); Lake Ocquittunk (Sussex County/250); Furnace Lake (Warren County/350); Amwell Lake (Hunterdon County/250); Spring Lake (Monmouth County/200); Topenemus Lake (Monmouth County/190); and Lake Shenandoah (Ocean County/240). Tuesday, November 20: Barbour’s Pond (Passaic County/280); Mt. Hope Pond (Morris County/280); South Vineland Park Pond (Cumberland County/180); Birch Grove Park Ponds (Atlantic County/190); Haddon Lake (Camden County/200); Shaws Mill Pond (Cumberland County/210); Rowands Pond (Camden County/100); and Ponderlodge Pond (Cape May County/160). |
