NJ trout season begins April 9 — stocking of streams runs through spring

By opening day of New Jersey's trout season, about 250,000 freshly stocked rainbow trout will be waiting in waterways across the Garden State. Hundreds of thousands more will be distributed statewide through the end of May.

Approximately 100,000 anglers are expected to hit the water for opening day, April 9, which kicks off at 8.a.m.

"The quality of New Jersey's trout fishing as well as the trout we stock have never been better," said Dave Golden, assistant commissioner of fish and wildlife for the state Department of Environmental Protection. "Excellent fishing opportunities are plentiful in every county, meaning a great place to fish can always be found close to home."

There will be approximately 570,000 rainbow trout stocked statewide by the end of spring, according to the DEP. Most trout average 10-and-a-half inches in length; they were raised at the Pequest Trout Hatchery in Warren County.

The stocking schedule is back to normal for 2022, following some alterations caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The state's 14 major trout streams are stocked weekly; they're individually closed on their stocking days for a 12-hour period, to allow the trout a chance to disperse, according to the DEP.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

Click here to contact an editor about feedback or a correction for this story.