The “torpedo shaped aquatic assassins” of spring!
Muskie, tiger muskie, northern pike and chain pickerel, four of a kind in their respective environs, along weed lines and subsurface structure in reservoirs, lakes, rivers and ponds.
Welcome to the world of the Garden State’s premier esocids, the family of torpedo shaped aquatic assassins that further solidify New Jersey’s reputation, predicated on geographical size and number of venues, as a freshwater fishing destination, particularly when it comes to bringing a trophy fish boatside.
The pickerel is the only true native species of the esocid players. The muskies and pike are bred and reared at the expansive Hackettstown State Fish Hatchery, and since the facility’s monumental overhaul in 2000, the stocking of the muskies and northerns increased exponentially since the warm water and cool water programs were initiated back in the 80s.
Sure, there some growing pains in the early going, these being primarily fine-tuning the stripping and rearing processes, and which waters would receive the pure strains and tigers, and northerns. Exhaustive on-the-water research regarding habitat, water quality as it pertained to escocid requirements, forage and containment (these, particularly the pike, can be escape artists) were scrutinized. These included venues mostly in the northern region, with several central and southern tier county swims also covered.
Trial and error, with the release roster finalized with a bit of tweaking here and there regarding respective numbers stocked and several waters added when there are surpluses.
From Hatch To Catch
As it stands today in 2025, pure strain muskies are stocked in Echo Lake Reservoir (Newark Watershed), Greenwood, Mercer, Furnace, DOD, and Little Swartswood lakes, Lake Hopatcong and Monksville Reservoir. When there are surpluses, the Delaware River, and/or Cooper River Lake, are dosed. Tigers are freed in Lake Musconetcong, Greenwood Lake, and Lake Hopatcong, with the Delaware River and Manasquan Reservoir graced with surplus fish.
The pike lineup includes Budd, Farrington and Pompton lakes, Spruce Run Reservoir, and the Pompton and Passaic Rivers. When available, extra pike are stocked in Cranberry and Deal lakes.
“There’s no documentation of natural reproduction of either pure strain muskie or pike,” said Justin Rozema, assistant biologist with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) bureau of freshwater fisheries which oversees the cool water project. “The shallow habitats in the waters that support the muskies and pike are too silty for successful spawning, so these fisheries have been and continue to be supported by the Hackettstown hatchery,” Rozema said. The tiger, a cross between the two, is created on site.
During early spring – usually early March – trap nets are set for the pure strains and northerns. For the former it’s usually Echo Lake, Lake Hopatcong, Greenwood Lake or Mountain Lake. The northerns are netted in either Spruce Run Reservoir or Budd Lake. The nets are checked daily, with the ripe females and males transported to the hatchery and the fertilization process begun. The spent adults take 21 days to recover in hatchery ponds before being released in their home waters.
Hackettstown Hatchery superintendent Craig Lemon notes that growth rates are quick because of the superlative conditions existing at the hatchery and the acute attention by the hatchery’s fisheries technicians. For example, the pike hatched this past spring are projected to reach the stockable 7-inch size by July 4. “Our intensive (inside) and extensive (outside) facilities afford optimum conditions for raising these fish. They’re grow quickly and are in fantastic physical shape when they’re stocked,” Lemon noted.
While the northerns reach stockable size via a mash then a dry pellet diet, the muskie duo is another matter. For the first 15 days it’s a brine shrimp/dry food mix, then a conversion to dry feed, then a jump to the real thing. They want meat, and this comes in the form of fathead minnows. Expensive, to say the least. Lemon is quick to praise the ongoing efforts of Muskies Inc. Chapter 22-NJ which has, for the past 20 years, purchased 75,000 to 100,000 fatheads, all going to the raising of the pure strains and tigers.
Muskies Rule, Muskie Rules
That the pure strain muskellunge is the Garden State’s premier gamefish is a given, with its hybrid kin an admirable second. In fact, New Jersey continues to draw those wanting a shot at trophy size muskies without having to travel to far away waters. Yeah, the options are limited, but this also serves to deter prospective angler numbers, making for less crowded conditions. This, coupled with the pure strain’s (and oftentimes tiger’s) often maddening wariness and selectivity makes it a win-win for a quality muskie hunting experience.
Pure strains in the coveted 50-inch class are not uncommon. The same goes for tigers in excess of 40 inches. Last year, bureau sampling on Monksville Reservoir saw a pair of pure strains taping at 50.5 and 49.5 inches. These are magnificent fish and reminiscent of what anglers might find when traveling to Minnesota, Ohio or Wisconsin in search of such a fishery.
The statewide limits on tigers and pure strains is a minimum 40-inch length and a one fish limit. The length jumps to 44 inches on the designated Trophy Muskie Waters, these being Lakes Greenwood and Hopatcong, and Echo Lake and Monksville Reservoir. It’s a catch and release exercise through May 20 on Mountain and Mercer lakes, and Monksville and Echo Lake reservoirs. On the Delaware River, it’s a 44-inch minimum for both.
The New Jersey state record pure strain weighed 42 pounds, 13 ounces and was caught in Monskville. The state record tiger weighed an even 29 pounds and came from the Delaware River.
Rozema’s Picks: Best bet to catch a pure strain is Mountain Lake; for a trophy it’s Monksville Reservoir. For a tiger it’s the Delaware River; Lake Hopatcong for a trophy tiger.
Those Northern Ways
The way the New Jersey’s pike fishery has exploded is nothing short of phenomenal. The popularity has resulted in noticeably increased interest in this always angry, and hungry, esocid. It’s a take-your-pick of venues – lakes, reservoirs or rivers. It’s the latter, specifically the Passaic River, that has put the Garden State on the pike fishing map. Indeed, this major flow is now synonymous with Jersey northerns when it comes to numbers and eyebrow raising sizes. Pike are stocked annually along 38 of its miles including the counties of Essex, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties, with scenery ranging from bucolic to suburban to urban (access and launch areas can be found at njfishandwildlife.com.)
The Pompton River, a tributary of the Passaic, also provides good to excellent opportunities, with 5 miles of its languid flow also receiving pike yearly. The rich forage base of both rivers result in rapid growth. White suckers are the primary bite, and these are considered the strombolis of forage fish. Golden shiners, small carp and panfish are other victims. Suckers are also the main dish in Pompton Lake, where the existing state record weighing a whopping 30 pounds, 8.5 ounces, was caught in 2009. Northerns approaching this weight are picked off in Pompton every year.
Also expect heavyweight northerns in Budd Lake and Spruce Run Reservoir. Farrington Lake, one of the earliest in the pike program, offers some decent cracks at husky northerns, followed by Cranberry Lake. The rod ‘n reel jury is still out on Deal Lake.
The daily limit is two at a 24-inch minimum.
Rozema’s Picks: Near sure thing to catch a pike are the Passaic River and Budd Lake; for a trophy northern it’s Pompton Lake and Spruce Run Reservoir.
Natural Chainsides
The ubiquitous chain pickerel is a true New Jersey native esocid species, and left to its own devices has proved a resilient gamefish that inhabits nearly all of New Jersey’s stillwaters and is found in select slow moving rivers as well, thus no need for hatchery jumpstarting or replenishment. The smallest of the foursome no way detracts from its ugly and aggressive disposition, and appetite. Chainsides prove willing antagonists no matter the season. They can be moody at times, but for the most part one can count on lightning strikes, or if utilizing live bait, speedy grabs and takeoffs.
Whatever works for bass can and invariably will incite pickerel to make a play. Plastics, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, chatterbaits, poppers, crankbaits, jerkbaits, spinners, spoons/trailers…all will incite strikes at one time or another. Pickerel get big and then some, evinced by the long standing world record of 9 pounds, 3 ounces caught in 1957 caught in south Jersey’s Aetna Lake that was eventually eclipsed by a Georgia chain. That fish still stands as the Garden State’s record.
Pickerel can survive and eke a living in the most acidic of the Pine Barrens, but their size will not match those in the more fertile, forage rich waters in the surrounding southern tier counties.
Rozema’s Picks: Pickerel Palooza at Farrington Lake; trophy chains at Lake Hopatcong.
May Days’ Play
That the escoid feeding activity resumes after ice out or when water temps approach the 50-degree mark, the fifth turn of the calendar page is when the crush-kill-consume reaction is firing on all cylinders. The aforementioned Muskies Inc. Chapter 22-NJ holds their wildly popular and intense “Musky School” during May, which this year will be on May 17 at Greenwood Lake. That tells you something, yes? With water temperatures rapidly approaching, or at optimum degrees, the forage fish (and frogs) are equally active.
The expansion of the muskie and pike fisheries have spawned (pun intended) a plethora of lure designs geared to the species, both hard and soft plastic, with various types of hardware. Glide baits, crank baits, oversized spinnerbaits and buzzbaits, tandem inline spinners, et al are winning selections; River2Sea, Normark, Suick, Mepps, Drifter and Musky Innovations are some of the main players in the hunt for muskies this month. “May through June is wide open,” said Laurie Murphy from Dow’s Boat Rental on Lake Hopatcong, ground zero for pure strain and tiger tales. “Plugs, plastics, big spinners and spinnerbaits, and even live bait. It’s one of the best times to catch muskies up here,” she added.
The most effective live bait translates to live trout, vis-a-vis the springtime stocking of what this year will be an impressive 9,280 rainbows in the 10.5- to 11-inch range. Esocid candy, with the bigger pickerel getting in on the carnage. The ideal size range is 7 to 10 inches, and with the statewide 9-inch minimum a receipt in possession will be required. Said sacrificial salmonids can be purchased at the Musky Trout Hatchery in Asbury (muskytrouthatchery.com).
Northerns will key on the same offerings for muskies albeit on a slightly downsized scale. Chain pickerel? Any lures that work for bass will prove a detonator for this nasty torpedo. We love the topwater and just subsurface assaults when the liquid skin erupts, but the truth being told, a take to shiner or minnie (killie) under a float, or a lip or back leg live frog ripped under the calm is still a thrill.
Pickerel are a grateful given, and the continuing eruption of the pure strain and tiger muskie, and northern pike fisheries are a testament to the quality and diversity of New Jersey’s freshwater fishing.
Let the May-hem begin.
