The Children's Fishing Derby Program began in the 1970s with Hackettstown Fish Hatchery personnel stocking about 10 ponds each year with bluegill sunfish. Today approximately 90 derbies will receive fish, with channel catfishand black crappies being added to the stocking mix.

The purpose of the program is to help bring the joys of fishing to the youth of the state by enhancing existing populations of fish in derby ponds. Below are some pictures illustrating the results of this effort. For more information on the program see the Children's Fishing Derby page.

Click on images for larger version.

Branch Brook Park

Branch Brook Park

Camp Wyanokie

Camp Wyanokie

Grover Pond	Grover Pond	Grover Pond	Nomahegan Park Pond	Nomahegan Park Pond
Rooke Lake	Rooke Lake	Rooke Lake	Rooke Lake	Rooke Lake

Turkey Swamp Park

Verona Park Pond

Verona Park Pond

Verona Park Pond

Batso Lake	Batso Lake	Batso Lake	Ed's Pond	Furnace Lake
Furnace Lake	Mettlar's Pond	Mettlar's Pond	Mettlar's Pond	Mettlar's Pond

Mettlar's Pond

Mettlar's Pond

Mettlar's Pond

Children's Derby Action 2004, page 2
Children's Derby Action 2004, page 3