Garden State Trout

I stopped to wet a line in the Peapack Brook Monday after work. Bugs were coming off around 4:30 so I tied on a dark dry fly (an attractor, size #16) and nailed a few fish on top. Water levels were decent considering we haven't had a lot of snow or any recent substantial rains.

Spring pre-season stocking begins March 23rd and continues through April 10th, fyi.

BT

Nice-what kind of fish?

Browns. I don't think they were wild although I understand there are wild browns in that stream. Mine were likely holdovers.

Holdovers from what/when? I thought the state hasn't stocked browns for years.

I think the last time the state stocked browns was 2014 or 2015. So that'd be a 5/6 year old trout...

But then again maybe it was wild. I wasn't sure.

Gotta bring the camera ......

Jaybird wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 11, 2020 12:13 pm

Gotta bring the camera ......

doe she leave his phone in the car?

So you are saying it was a big old brown trout?

What we have here is a good old fashioned Trout Mystery .... We need Columbo , but will settle for Ben Casey .

Not too big—I’m not good at measuring, but I’d say it was under a foot. And no, no camera this time; I fished a bamboo rigged with a dry fly and aimed for the minimalist/purist approach on the water. I’ll try to produce some envy-inducing shots next time I’m out.

I think it's probably wild .

Agreed. Nice outing. I'm all for leaving the phone in the car when I remember to...

Agreed hate the phone , but I take the camera , just to many things you come across that you wish you had a picture of .

100% wild browns. We have no state holdover browns still alive at this point.

100% wild browns. We have no state holdover browns still alive at this point.

Rusty Spinner wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:11 pm

100% wild browns. We have no state holdover browns still alive at this point.

i actually froze a bunch back from 2012 and on occasion throw them into the brook; once they thaw out they start swimming. That explains all the browns you guys catch, they are not wild.

Dont do that!!! Chunk em fer pike... at least a 10 hr soak

Rusty Spinner wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 1:11 pm

100% wild browns. We have no state holdover browns still alive at this point.

Serious question, if there are no holdover browns, how did a wild brown appear in a river. It must have parents somewhere. Is it the spawn of another pair of wilds?

Serious question, if there are no holdover browns, how did a wild brown appear in a river. It must have parents somewhere.

Browns do reproduce in our streams and previously stocked Browns from years past are the origin of the current "wild Browns". What Rusty meant was that currently caught Browns in the Peapack were not stocked but are progeny of previously stocked fish. In other streams you may run into holdover Browns from private stocking in fishing clubs.

barkeater wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:42 pm

Serious question, if there are no holdover browns, how did a wild brown appear in a river. It must have parents somewhere.

Browns do reproduce in our streams and previously stocked Browns from years past are the origin of the current "wild Browns". What Rusty meant was that currently caught Browns in the Peapack were not stocked but are progeny of previously stocked fish. In other streams you may run into holdover Browns from private stocking in fishing clubs.

Thanks

So any state stocked browns would have died off due to old age (or predation) by now. I wasn't sure how long ago browns were stocked or the age expectancy of brown trout.