Salmon Stocking Continues in 2016

March 15, 2016

The 10th year of the state's robust Landlocked Salmon program has begun with the first stockings occurring between March 10 and 14. Crews from the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife's Hackettstown Hatchery stocked 1,405 holdover Landlocked Salmon averaging 15.6 inches and 1.65 pounds each. Wawayanda Lake (Wawayanda State Park, Sussex Co.) was float stocked with 800 salmon, and Tilcon Lake (Allamuchy Mountain State Park, Morris Co.) and Lake Aeroflex (Kittatinny Valley State Park, Sussex Co.) received 280 and 325 respectively. These waters remain open for catch-and-release fishing during the trout stocking pre-season closure which begins March 21. These stockings continue to build on previous stockings. The 2015 stockings consisted of 4,147 salmon in the three water bodies, almost doubling any prior year's stockings. The 2015 stockings included 1,087 holdover fifteen-inch and 660 eight-inch spring stocked fish, and 2,400 fall fish averaging 12 inches. (See the past stocking records.)

Senior Fisheries Worker Jim Hartobey with salmon Click to enlarge

The bottom line for anglers: in the past year, more than 5,500 salmon have been stocked in the three state park lakes. This should make salmon fishing in New Jersey very exciting this season.

Arrangements have been made with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's's Roger Reed Salmon Hatchery to continue trades of surplus New Jersey Northern Pike fingerlings for 2,000 eight-inch Massachusetts Landlocked Salmon. The swap is usually made around the middle of May when the 2-3 inch pike fingerlings begin to crowd Hackettstown rearing tanks.

See www.njfishandwildlife.com/salmon.htm for more information on Landlocked Salmon in New Jersey.