New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

December 21, 2000

As part of an ongoing evaluation of its Sea Run Brown Trout Program, the Division of Fish and Wildlife reports two recent catches of sea run brown trout from the Manasquan River in Monmouth County. The Division's 5-year Sea Run Brown Trout Program was developed in 1997 to create a new fishery utilizing surplus brown trout from the Pequest Trout Hatchery in Warren County. (For more about this program, see Mark Boriek's article, "New Jersey's Most Wanted Fish," co-authored with Kurt Powers.)

"This program is proving to be extremely promising," said Division Director Bob McDowell. "I'd like to thank the many anglers who took the time to report their catches. The information provided has been invaluable to evaluating the success of the program."

On November 12, a 5-pound sea run brown trout was caught ½ mile downstream of the Howell golf course. The fish measured 18 inches in length. The finclip indicated that the fish had been stocked by the Division in 1999.

On November 30, a 9-pound sea run brown was caught ½ mile upstream from Hospital Road. The fish measured 28 inches in length.

The Division has been stocking 8-inch brown trout every October since 1997. To date, a total of 110,645 brown trout have been stocked in the freshwater/tidal portion of the Manasquan River in an effort to create a population of sea-run fish. Stocking years and quantities are as follows: 1997 - 16,065 fish; 1998 - 33,070 fish; 1999 - 31,575 fish; and 2000 - 29,935 fish.

After a period of freshwater residence, young brown trout will migrate to the ocean to mature. After one or two years, the fish return to their native freshwater rivers to reproduce each fall.

Sea run brown trout sport a silvery color that masks most of the spotting found on the body, although numerous small spots remain on the head. Anglers are asked to report all catches of brown trout in tidal water to the Bureau of Freshwater Fisheries at 908-236-2118.