2007 SPRING TROUT STOCKING PROGRAM
Bonus Broodstock Ponds and Lakes
Each spring the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife stocks over 570,000 brook, brown, and rainbow trout in nearly 200 streams, lakes, and ponds statewide. This popular program provides a variety of trout fishing opportunities for more than 100,000 anglers.
The trout are reared at the Division's Pequest Trout Hatchery, and most of the trout stocked in the spring are 1½ years old and average 10½ inches and ½ pound each. However, some of the trout that are stocked every spring are considerable larger, weighing 3 to 5 pounds each and ranging from 14 to 19 inches.
These large trout are called "broodstock" or "breeders" because they are mature fish (2½ years old) that were used the previous fall to obtain and fertilize eggs as part of the hatchery's continuous production cycle. After the broodstock are spawned in the hatchery, some are stocked in the fall (approximately 1,000). The remaining 4,000 to 6,000 broodstock are stocked the following spring, primarily before the opening day of the spring trout season.
To increase interest and excitement in this popular springtime angling activity the Division stocks higher numbers of broodstock in nine trout-stocked ponds and small lakes. Each spring a new set of waters receives three to five times more broodstock than they have traditionally received in the past.
The nine waters selected for 2007 are listed in the table below and are shown on the attached map. By concentrating 380 of these large trout in nine relatively small lakes and ponds, it is expected that angler participation and satisfaction will increase as anglers catch these trout themselves or observe others catching them. The bonus broodstock trout are stocked prior to the opening day of the trout season on Saturday, April 7, 2007.
The table below provides information on where the bonus broodstock are being stocked. The map is a separate file in PDF format.
Bonus Broodstock Waters Location Map (pdf, 310kb)
2007 BONUS BROODSTOCK PONDS AND LAKES |
Waterbody |
County |
Waterbody Size (acres) |
Pre-season Trout Allocation1 |
Pre-season
Broodstock Allocation |
2007 |
2006 |
Birch Grove Park Pond |
Atlantic |
12 |
450 |
50 |
10 |
Burnham Park Pond |
Morris |
12 |
330 |
30 |
5 |
Colonial Lake |
Mercer |
10 |
400 |
50 |
10 |
Grenloch Pond |
Gloucester |
8 |
390 |
50 |
10 |
Hooks Creek Lake |
Middlesex |
10 |
510 |
50 |
10 |
Lake Papaianni |
Middlesex |
5 |
410 |
50 |
10 |
Mac's Pond |
Monmouth |
2 |
150 |
20 |
5 |
Mary Elmer Lake |
Cumberland |
18 |
480 |
50 |
10 |
West Hudson County Park Pond |
Hudson |
4 |
480 |
30 |
5 |
1 Note: The pre-season allocation includes both the production size trout (10 ½ inch average size) and the broodstock. The pre-season trout allocation is stocked prior to Opening Day.
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ADDITIONAL LINKS