An exciting, new sport fish is now swimming in New Jersey’s waters - the hard-fighting landlocked salmon! This salmonid species is the lake-dwelling form of the Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Unlike the anadromous Atlantic salmon, which migrates from saltwater to spawn in freshwater streams, the landlocked form is able to complete its entire life cycle in freshwater. Landlocked salmon are native to eastern Canada and Maine, and have been successfully introduced to suitable waters outside their native range in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York.

On May 17, 2006, the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife introduced landlocked salmon into two lakes to provide anglers with an opportunity to fish for this unique coldwater sport fish close to home. Only a handful of deep lakes in New Jersey have suitable year round habitat for coldwater fish like trout and salmon. Salmon prefer water temperatures less than 70°F and dissolved oxygen levels greater than 5 mg/L, but can withstand warmer, less oxygenated water conditions for short periods. Salmon were stocked in several NJ waters a half-century ago, and the historical state record for landlocked salmon is an 8 pound fish caught from Aeroflex Lake in 1951. The two lakes selected to receive landlocked salmon are Wawayanda Lake and Aeroflex Lake. Wawayanda Lake is located in Wawayanda State Park in northern Sussex County near Vernon. It has a surface area of 255 acres and a maximum depth of 80 feet. Aeroflex Lake (also known as New Wawayanda Lake) lies in southern Sussex County, within Kittatinny Valley State Park near Andover, and has a surface area of 100 acres and a maximum depth of 101 feet. Both lakes have suitable coldwater fish habitat year round and a forage base of alewives for the salmon to feed upon.

Salmon are stocked in New Jersey Click to enlarge

The salmon that will be stocked are surplus fish provided by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife free of charge. These fish are spring yearlings, the product of eggs taken from mature females and then fertilized, back in the fall of 2004. When stocked this May, at an age of 1½ years, they measured nearly eight inches and tipped the scales at six fish per pound. A truck from our fish hatchery transported the salmon from Massachusetts and immediately stocked them in each lake. Approximately 1,020 fish were stocked in Wawayanda Lake and Aeroflex Lake will receive 404 fish. To help minimize loss through predation, the salmon will be float stocked away from the shoreline.

Initially the salmon will feed upon macroinvertebrates and insects. Towards the end of the summer, as they reach a size of about 12 inches, the salmon will shift to a diet of alewives. Anglers are allowed to keep two salmon per day measuring at least 12 inches long. This regulation should give anglers the opportunity to keep legal salmon later this year and through the ice. The stocking rate and harvest regulations are intended to provide anglers with an opportunity to catch salmon that commonly range from 12" – 17", and an expectation of catching an occasional salmon in excess of 17" (3 pounds).

Both lakes selected for the introduction of salmon are currently stocked with brown and rainbow trout and are managed to provide good trout fisheries through the Holdover Trout Lakes regulation. (Trout that survive the critical summer period are referred to as "holdovers.") Salmon and trout are competitors in that both are pelagic (occupying primarily open water, away from shallow water areas) and will utilize the alewife forage base. To further maximize the salmon’s chances for success, the last stocking of brown trout in both lakes slated for the same week the salmon will be introduced, has been cancelled.

Landlocked salmon are closely related to brown trout (Salmo trutta), and anglers may have difficulty telling them apart. Because size and creel limits are different for salmon and trout, anglers need to know the differences in order to comply with the regulations and quickly release fish that can not be kept. The most obvious differences between salmon and brown trout can be found in the head and tail areas. The caudal fin (tail) of a salmon is forked and a brown trout’s tail is square (unforked). The upper jaw (maxillary) of a salmon does not extend beyond the rear edge of the eye while a brown trout’s maxillary generally extends well past the rear edge. A salmon may also (but not always) have "X" shaped markings along its back. Posters detailing these characteristics will be prominently displayed at each lake and handouts with this information will also be available.

The landlocked salmon populations will be maintained through annual stockings of spring yearlings. While mature salmon may migrate into the inlets and outlets and attempt to spawn it is unlikely that natural reproduction will produce enough fish to maintain an acceptable fisheries. The salmon fisheries will be monitored by Fish and Wildlife and if warranted stocking rates and fishing regulations for salmonids will be adjusted to maintain a desirable fishery.

Both state parks have boat launching facilities (ramps) and ample parking. Boat rentals are also available seasonally at Wawayanda Lake. Only electric motors are permitted (no gas outboards). A park entrance fee is charged at Wawayanda Lake is located in Wawayanda State Park from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. There is no fee to launch boats at Lake Aeroflex. Both facilities are open from dawn to dusk. The park office phone numbers are as follows: Wawayanda State Park 973-853-4462 and Kittatinny Valley State Park 973-786-6445.