5/15/20 - Trout stocking of 31 waters will resume Monday and conclude Thursday next week. Waters will be listed here each afternoon once stocking is completed for that day. This is to prevent crowds at waters prior to trucks arriving in order to help safeguard the public and our staff. Remember to maintain proper social distancing at all times while fishing and in parking areas.

5/4/20 - Trout Stocked Waters Now Open to Trout Fishing has been posted.

4/30/20 - Governor Murphy has signed an Executive Order to reopen state parks and forests at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 2, for passive recreation, including fishing.

4/23/20 - The List of Waters Open to Trout Fishing has been updated and will continue to be updated as we become aware of changes in a water's status. Check with municipalities if their parks have closed since the last update of the list.

4/22/20 - A listing of waters known to be open to trout fishing at this time is available. Use the List of Waters Open to Trout Fishing (pdf, 45kb) with the Fishing Access Locations on Trout Waters page to find a location near you. Note that portions of waters in state parks/forests and county parks remain closed to anglers.

4/17/20 - Update on New Jersey's 2020 Trout Season

4/14/20 - Trout season is open and most waters have received their entire spring allotment of trout; there will not be weekly stockings as in past years. All regulations remain in effect except there will be NO IN-SEASON CLOSURES on the 14 major streams where they normally would be in effect. State Wildlife Management Areas remain open except for the Round Valley Reservoir boat ramp. Help keep WMAs and other areas open by observing proper social distancing!

Although state and county parks have closed there are nearly 125 other trout stocked waters open to the public for fishing. The Division has reserved trout at the Pequest hatchery in anticipation of being able to resume stocking towards the end of May, depending on the status of COVID-19, stream temps and public access.

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4/10/20 - The following county park waters are known to be closed: Alms House Pond, Barbour's Pond, Branch Brook Park Pond, Dahnert's Lake, Diamond Mill Pond, Greenwich Lake, Haddon Lake, Holmdel Park Pond, Lake Shenandoah, Lower Echo Park Pond, Manalapan Lake, Manasquan River, Manny's Pond, Milton Lake, Mountain Farm Pond, Nomahegan Park Pond, North Hudson Co. Park Pond, Roosevelt Park Pond, Rosedale Lake, Seeley's Pond, Spooky Brook Park Pond, Verona Park Pond, Warinanco Pond, West Hudson Park Pond, and White Lake.

4/6/20 - All State Parks have recently been closed. The following waters are trout stocked and will not be open for angler access. These closures will also affect angler access areas on rivers within State Park boundaries:

Black River
D&R Canal
D&R Feeder Canal
Green Turtle Pond
Lake Aeroflex
Lake Hopatcong (State Park/ramp)
Lake Musconetcong (State Park/ramp)
Lake Ocquittunk
Little Swartswood Lake (State Park/ramp)
Mingamahone Creek
Neldon Brook
Ringwood Brook
Round Valley
Sawmill Pond
Sheppard's Lake
Swartswood Lake (State Park/ramps)
Stony Lake
Wawayanda Creek
Wawayanda Lake

4/3/20 - Catch and release fishing for trout began at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 1. Most trout waters will temporarily close to fishing again at 12:01 a.m. on April 11 and the season will re-open at the legal time of 8:00 a.m. on April 11 (the official Opening Day of Trout Season), at which time trout can be harvested within established regulations, including a creel limit of six trout per day where allowed. Gear restrictions on special regulated areas still apply.

In-season closures have been removed; the 14 waters normally closed to fishing until 5:00 p.m. on their weekly designated stocking day may be fished at any time or on any day of the week after the season officially opens on April 11 at 8:00 a.m. All waters open to the public will have received trout by today, Friday, April 3. Stocking will continue until April 10. Specific stocking dates will not be announced.

3/31/20 - Birch Grove Park Pond and Dahnerts Lake are closed to fishing.

3/30/20 - Mountain Lake and Branch Brook Park Lake will not be stocked due to continuing HAB events. Merrill Creek Reservoir and Laurel Pond are presently closed to the public.

3/20/20 - Today's Peseason Stockings - The following waters will be stocked by the end of today: Hohokus Brook,Lockatong Creek, D&R Feeder Canal (Lower), Neshanic River, Nishisakawick Creek, Paulins Kill (Lower), Pequannock River, Pequannock River TCA, Ramapo River, Raritan River N/B, Wanaque River (Lower), and Wichecheoke Creek.

3/19/20 - Today's Reseason Stockings - The following waters will be stocked by the end of today: Raritan River S/B, Round Valley Reservoir, and Lower Paulins Kill.

3/18/20 - Today's Reseason Stockings - The following waters will be stocked by the end of today: Lower Pohatcong Creek, Manasquan River, Mingamahone Brook, Musconetcong River, Hakihohake Creek, and Paulins Kill

3/17/20 - Preseason Stockings - The Pequest River TCA (Warren Co.) was stocked yesterday; The following waters will be stocked by the end of today: Merrill Creek Reservoir (Warren Co.), Pequest River (Upper/Middle/Lower) (Morris, Sussex & Warren Co.) and Raritan River TCA (Hunterdon Co.).

3/6/20 - Musconetcong River (Morris/Sussex Co.) - Trout will not be stocked in the Muscanetcong River at Waterloo Road due to a bridge replacement project.

3/2/20 - Hooks Creek Lake (Middlesex Co.) - Due to the fluctuating salinity levels, Hook's Creek Lake has been re-suspended from the Trout Stocking Program until salinity levels become more stable. The issue began with high salinity from storms that affected the region in October, 2012, including Hurricane Sandy. The lake was been suspended from the Division's Trout Stocking Program from 2012 until the fall of 2015 when salinity levels dropped to levels safe for stocking. However, since 2016, salinity levels have not remained safe for stocking - in some cases, fluctuating salinity levels have resulted in fish kills. Biologists will continue to monitor the situation.

3/2/20 - West Hudson County Park Pond (Hudson Co.) - Recognizing increased popularity with anglers, stocking of West Hudson County Park Pond was added to the full trout allocation program and will be receiving stocked trout in Weeks 1-4 as well as a pre-season stocking. These additional four weeks of stocking will result in 1,040 more fish for the pond in 2020.

Any deviations from the stocking schedule will be noted here and on the Trout Hotline (609-633-6765).