After a long, snowy winter it really is beginning to feel like spring. The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife is currently working on a modified stocking schedule similar to last year. Changes that were mandated due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Most of the annual spring allotment of Rainbow Trout from the Pequest Hatchery, around 500,000 fish are being stocked prior to the April 1st Catch and Release Opener. Starting on April 10th, anglers fishing general regulation waters will be

After an incredibly stormy February seeing our first real thaw is a welcome sight or better a feeling. The snow cover plays a key role in groundwater discharge and we'll want to bank some of that for later this spring. Groundwater flows later in the season help offset some of the impacts that warm, sunny days in late spring can have on the temperature of a trout stream. Still, I'm glad to see it melt. As usual the trout did very well over the winter and for those hardy souls