the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Opening day of trout season: Saturday, April 6, 2019 at 8 a.m. To fish for trout or salmon, a valid New Jersey fishing license and trout stamp are both required for residents at least 16 years and less than 70 years of age plus all non-residents 16 years and older.
Each spring, approximately 570,000 rainbow trout raised at the Pequest Trout Hatchery are stocked into the state’s streams, ponds, and lakes. Nearly 1/3 of these trout, 184,400, await anglers on April 6 when the season opens. The majority of trout being stocked will average 10½ inches but large breeders, measuring 14 – 23″ and weighing up to 7 pounds are also distributed in the early weeks of the season.
The state’s fourteen major trout streams are stocked every week following Opening Day and are closed to fishing from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of stocking to allow the trout a chance to disperse. All other waters are open to fishing on stocking days, following opening day, with most stocked at least three times. Since every county has waters that are stocked with trout, trout fishing opportunities are never too far away.
New Jersey offers some of the best trout fishing opportunities you will find in the northeast – and fishing has never been better! And its not just a spring thing anymore. Stocking programs in spring, fall and winter provide for excellent year-round trout fishing opportunities in the Garden State.
