Other waters offer fine trout fishing opportunities even though they are not stocked in the fall. The Holdover Trout Lakes, like Lake Aeroflex and Lake Wawayanda, provide year round trout fishing opportunities and the landlocked salmon stocked earlier this year in these waters will soon be big enough to harvest. Our two Trophy Trout Lakes, Round Valley and Merrill Creek Reservoirs, are also great trout fishing destinations. Shoreline fishing on Round Valley is particularly popular in the fall, as big rainbows cruise the shallows (See the current Freshwater Digest for special area regulations.) Also, sea run brown trout begin returning to freshwater in the Manasquan River during the fall and early winter.

A distinctly different trout-fishing experience awaits anglers who fish the wild trout streams scattered across north Jersey. These small streams are not stocked with trout and anglers can expect to catch small, colorful trout, with most measuring less than ten inches. Thirty-five streams are managed under special regulations to provide anglers with opportunities to catch stunning, stream-bred trout (see the current Freshwater Digest for information). All trout captured from designated Wild Trout Streams, from September 16, 2006 to April 7, 2007 at 8 a.m. must be released, and be sure to leave the bait buckets home - these streams are artificials only.

Trout fishing will really heat up once fall stocking gets underway. The line-busting, bragging-size trout being stocked in October will test the skills of anglers fishing with lightweight tackle, leaving some anglers with fond memories, to last a lifetime, about the big one that got away. Whether you chose to fish for stocked or wild trout, there are plenty of trout-fishing opportunities in the Garden State. So take the time from your busy schedules to enjoy trout fishing during the splendor of fall.