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Don’t Miss Out on Bonus Broodstock!

Every spring the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife stocks nearly 600,000 brook, brown, and rainbow trout in approximately 200 streams, lakes, and ponds statewide. The popular spring stocking program provides fabulous trout fishing opportunities for more than 100,000 anglers.

Happy Anglers with Trout The trout are reared at the Division's Pequest Trout Hatchery, and those stocked in the spring are 1½ years old and average about 10½ inches in length and weigh about ½ pound. But thousands of the trout that are stocked every spring are considerable larger, weighing 3 to 7 pounds each and ranging from 17 to 24 inches. These large trout are called "broodstock" or "breeders" because they are mature fish (2½ - 3½ 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, up to 1,000 are stocked for the fall trout fishing season. The remaining 4,000 to 6,000 broodstock are stocked the following spring, primarily before the opening day of the spring trout fishing.

To increase interest and excitement in the spring trout fishing season, the Division picks nine or ten trout-stocked ponds and small lakes every year and loads them up with about five times more broodstock than they would normally receive! The bonus broodstock trout are stocked prior to the opening day of the trout season on Saturday, April 7, 2012.

Imagine going to a small pond or lake and latching onto one of these lunkers. Actually, there is no need to imagine - any one of the Bonus Broodstock ponds and lakes offers the chance to land that 'lifetime trout' during the spring season. Don't miss this exciting opportunity.

The list and map below will help you find the lakes and ponds receiving the bonus broodstock for 2012. And remember - trout season begins this year on Saturday, April 7 - so fine tune your tackle and be ready for another exciting year of trout fishing in New Jersey!

Bonus Broodstock Waters Location Map (.gif, 57kb)
Bonus Broodstock Waters Location Map (pdf, 67kb)

2012 BONUS BROODSTOCK PONDS AND LAKES
Waterbody County Waterbody
Size
(acres)
Pre-season
Trout Allocation1
Pre-season
Broodstock Allocation
2012 2011
Barbour's Pond Passaic 12 420 50 10
Crystal Lake Burlington 20 550 50 10
Echo Lake Monmouth 6 360 30 5
Holmdel Park Pond Monmouth 3 210 30 5
Manny's Pond Hunterdon 4 280 30 5
Ponderlodge Pond Cape May 8 480 50 02
Seeley's Pond Union 3 230 30 5
South Vineland Park Pond Cumberland 17 540 50 02
Verona Park Pond Essex 13 470 50 10
1 - The pre-season allocation includes both the production size trout (10½ inch average size) and the broodstock. The pre-season trout allocation is stocked prior to Opening Day.
2 - Ponderlodge Pond and South Vineland Park Pond were not stocked with trout in 2011.

ADDITIONAL LINKS

arrow Spring 2012 Trout Information
arrow Fishing Access Locations on Trout Waters
arrow Places to Fish - Ponds
arrow Places to Fish - Streams
arrow Sea Run Brown Trout
arrow Fishing Regulations
 
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Department of Environmental Protection
P. O. Box 402
Trenton, NJ 08625-0402

Last Updated: February 29, 2012