Print version (pdf, 105kb) Catch & Release fishing regulations were implemented in 2014 on sections of two trout-stocked streams: the Flat Brook/Big Flat Brook and the Ken Lockwood Gorge on the S/Br. Raritan River. Both support reproducing trout populations. Electrofishing surveys have been conducted on these streams to provide data for evaluating the effect of the regulation change on these trout fisheries.
Flat Brook/Big Flat Brook: Rt. 206 bridge downstream to Roy Bridge (4.2 miles)
Although this stream reach is trout-stocked in the spring and fall, and naturally reproducing trout occur within this section, few trout were encountered during these surveys (see table below). Trout appear to be utilizing deep, non-wadeable pools in this stream, as evidenced by the 2014 informal (non-standardized) electrofishing survey that was conducted in a large, deep pool (see footnote in table) in which 15 trout were captured and others eluded capture. In 2015, three of the four survey sites were moved slightly upstream or downstream of previous survey sites sampled in an attempt to determine if trout are utilizing other areas within the Catch & Release regulation section (see table below for summary of trout found). The Three Bridges site yielded significantly more trout. Electrofishing Locations, Big Flat Brook/Flat Brook 2012-2015 (pdf, 29kb)
South Branch of the Raritan River: Ken Lockwood Gorge (2.2 miles)
The number of trout over 9 inches increased from 54 to 82 to 149 to 381 respectively, which meets a management objective to increase trout densities. The drastic increase to 381 trout, however, can not be attributed to the new Catch and Release regulation, as the majority of trout were under 15 inches, which could not be harvested under neither the previous TCA regulation or under current Catch and Release regulations. A second objective of the Catch and Release regulation was to increase the number of trout over 15 inches, however this number has not increased as it went from 0 to 2 to 6 to 3 in 2015. This may have been affected by the fact that broodstock trout were not stocked here in the fall of 2014, which likely contribute greatly to the number of large trout in this section. It is recommended to continue to monitor the fish assemblage within the Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA to assess the Catch and Release regulations. Electrofishing Locations, Ken Lockwood Gorge 2006-2015 (pdf, 12kb) Back to Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries |
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