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Welcome back to the new NEFF. Take a break from Twitter and Facebook. You don't go to Dicks for your fly fishing gear, you go to your local fly fishing store. Enjoy!

nj should be ashamed.

Of all the things that suck about NJ, our DFW and the trout stocking program don't even register. From the time Pequest opened up until this year the fish have always been fine. You have to go back to the last days of Hayford to remember bad stockies. Besides I thought not many here cared about stockers???? Hmmmm, the tune has changed a bit when the stockers aren't as heavily stocked....
I see the situation as a few more weeks before the summer heat, without the truck chasers.

Let them complain, maybe they won't contribute to the crowding.
 
While I mostly fish in pa or ny for wild fish I do fish in nj on occasion. I was just commenting on how bad the bows I caught looked. It would seem that most new Jerseyians are used to getting bent over the barrel. Hooray for you guys taking this in stride. More of our money wasted and ending up in a landfill. Same old Jersey.
 
Oh I almost forgot,if it is not that big of a deal,why is shannons taking donations to stock the south branch? I thought there was enough wild fish there to sustain the fishery. I would like to see the state electro shock the gorge in September to get a better idea of the wild fish population after a season of no stocking.
 
While I mostly fish in pa or ny for wild fish I do fish in nj on occasion. I was just commenting on how bad the bows I caught looked. It would seem that most new Jerseyians are used to getting bent over the barrel. Hooray for you guys taking this in stride. More of our money wasted and ending up in a landfill. Same old Jersey.

PA would have stocked these diseased fish according to their Boat and Fish Commissioner. I'm not sure that is what is best for wild trout. Not sure if I'm in the minority or majority when I say I'm glad our Division did not stock them. Plenty of wild trout here in NJ as well ;). But I'm sure you know that.
 
Oh I almost forgot,if it is not that big of a deal,why is shannons taking donations to stock the south branch? I thought there was enough wild fish there to sustain the fishery. I would like to see the state electro shock the gorge in September to get a better idea of the wild fish population after a season of no stocking.

I would guess that Shannon's stocked because they are a business and want to draw people to the SBR to stop and buy things at their shop.....I think it is a great idea to electro shock. I am curious as well....I have caught plenty of wild fishes in the Gorge, but definitely more stockers......
 
I would guess that Shannon's stocked because they are a business and want to draw people to the SBR to stop and buy things at their shop.....I think it is a great idea to electro shock. I am curious as well....I have caught plenty of wild fishes in the Gorge, but definitely more stockers......

For what it's worth, I tried to convince the owners they wouldn't need to stock. I personally think that leaving our wild and holdover fish alone for a year will be the best experiment NJ has ever done. Time will tell.


As for electro fishing the Gorge, they did it last summer and found tons of wild fish. Mostly browns and rainbows that far downstream.
 
From Shannons perspective, its totally understandable why they wanted to stock the south branch. Not everyone is a hardcore fly fisherman that distinguishes between wild trout vs. stockies, and many fisherman just want to catch fish. Shannons realizes this and is doing what they can to make sure the average to even below average angler that fishes a couple times a year isn't lost this season due to the impression that the fish count is down. The shop always tries to be a part of the community, and I think they deserve nothing but respect for trying to salvage what is a tough situation going into the season.
 
For what it's worth, I tried to convince the owners they wouldn't need to stock. I personally think that leaving our wild and holdover fish alone for a year will be the best experiment NJ has ever done. Time will tell.


As for electro fishing the Gorge, they did it last summer and found tons of wild fish. Mostly browns and rainbows that far downstream.


Tons? that would be more than one ton...so you electro-shocked over 4000 pounds of wild trout in The Gorge last fall? Really? Come on Rusty, It had to be closer to, maybe 50 pounds, no?

that is my best FF impersonation..
:)
 
From Shannons perspective, its totally understandable why they wanted to stock the south branch. Not everyone is a hardcore fly fisherman that distinguishes between wild trout vs. stockies, and many fisherman just want to catch fish. Shannons realizes this and is doing what they can to make sure the average to even below average angler that fishes a couple times a year isn't lost this season due to the impression that the fish count is down. The shop always tries to be a part of the community, and I think they deserve nothing but respect for trying to salvage what is a tough situation going into the season.


I think it was a great thing that Shannons did. They did not have to do that. It showed that a small fly shop can step up to the plate where an entire government entity failed. What I find to be disheartening, the quality of the fish that Musky hatchery produces seems to be far better then what the state produces. I get that the state needs to produce numbers every year to maintain the program, but I have seen it and I know that others have observed it also. There is something genetically wrong with the states rainbows. Their color just does not look right, They have a yellow tinge to them when they should be silver. I don't know if it is due to inbreeding or a poor diet that they are fed. It just goes to show that the private sector does it better.
 
Tons? that would be more than one ton...so you electro-shocked over 4000 pounds of wild trout in The Gorge last fall? Really? Come on Rusty, It had to be closer to, maybe 50 pounds, no?

that is my best FF impersonation..
:)

I electro fished nothing as I was going to help, but high waters (if I recall) postponed that shocking until later when I was busy. So I'm going to stick to tons. :)
 
I meant no disrespect towards shannons. Just pointing out that they feel the stream needs to be stocked. I read elsewhere that the numbers were about 750- 1000 fish per mile. That really doesn't seem like a lot especially given the pressure on these areas. Some places I fish have 700-1000 fish in a 330 yard stretch. Guess that's why I love pa so much.
 
I meant no disrespect towards shannons. Just pointing out that they feel the stream needs to be stocked. I read elsewhere that the numbers were about 750- 1000 fish per mile. That really doesn't seem like a lot especially given the pressure on these areas. Some places I fish have 700-1000 fish in a 330 yard stretch. Guess that's why I love pa so much.

I don't think anyone took offense. As their head guide, I disagreed with their need to stock myself and I'm out here letting the world know. But then again, it's not my business nor is it my blood, sweat and tears every day. In the end, they are being very well supported by the fly fishing community with a busy shop. I'm in the tiny minority that believes some of our best wild trout waters should be better protected and not stocked. But until the protection part comes in, I understand the need to stock most trout waters in NJ. Still in all, like you, I greatly prefer wild trout fishing. It's why I take most of my vacations on wild trout waters and seldom, if ever, on stocked or even partially stocked waters.
 
I electro fished nothing as I was going to help, but high waters (if I recall) postponed that shocking until later when I was busy. So I'm going to stick to tons. :)

You were supposed to provide a report on that electro fishing activity.
 
You were supposed to provide a report on that electro fishing activity.

I had planned to, but they had to switch days to one where I wasn't available. So let's go with tons for now...


(actually, anyone can contact the fisheries biologist, Shawn Crouse, and ask for the results. He's a great guy and like the other biologists, always willing to share information such as this. He works out of the Division's Lebanon Fisheries Lab.
 
(actually, anyone can contact the fisheries biologist, Shawn Crouse, and ask for the results. He's a great guy and like the other biologists, always willing to share information such as this. He works out of the Division's Lebanon Fisheries Lab.

You can usually get the data for PA electro-fished waters on the PFBC site. Maybe NJ should post more of that stuff.
 
Yes and you get pictures too. All I get is rusty handing me off to some boob in the fisheries department:)
 
Just a word to the wise on electroshocking. Shocking is the cause of senseless fish mortality. We took garbage bags full of 15-21" browns and rainbows out of the Roaring Fork River in Colorado where I guide in the summers after the DOW shocked that section. Surprisingly, few agencies seem to realize how detrimental shocking is. For the most part it has been abandoned by the Division, as it has been by many neighboring states.
 
Just a word to the wise on electroshocking. Shocking is the cause of senseless fish mortality. We took garbage bags full of 15-21" browns and rainbows out of the Roaring Fork River in Colorado where I guide in the summers after the DOW shocked that section. Surprisingly, few agencies seem to realize how detrimental shocking is. For the most part it has been abandoned by the Division, as it has been by many neighboring states.

When done correctly, mortality to trout is near zero. Here in NJ, it is done to determine our water classifications (TP = trout production, TM = trout maintenance and NT = non-trout). Those classifications drive protections to our waterways and there really is no other way to scientifically determine those parameters without electro fishing. When the current is set properly, you should have zero trout loss. Some of smaller bait fish can see some mortality, but again, it depends on the settings of the backpack units.

Fishing mortality, even in no-kill waters, grossly outweighs the few trout each year our biologists accidentally kill while sampling.
 
Just want to add that the state stocked rainbows are still around in good numbers in the Musky and Pequest and are starting to look much better after at least 6 weeks in the streams. Some even seem to have grown a little.
 
Just want to add that the state stocked rainbows are still around in good numbers in the Musky and Pequest and are starting to look much better after at least 6 weeks in the streams. Some even seem to have grown a little.

JeffK, you and I are New Jersey's two fly fishing treasures.
 
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