Rack n Fin

The aggressive three part 2023 trout stocking schedule by New Jersey DEP’s bureau of freshwater fisheries concludes with the Winter Trout Program today and tomorrow.

After pleasantly enduring a decent and progressively hotter tog (blackfish) bite that started in early October and intensified to torrid entering this month, the possession limit, as of yesterday, is now five instead of the previous one fish.

Starting tonight, and extending through December 30, ringnecks will be stocked on 23 select wildlife management areas (WMAs) statewide.

It was around the second month in October that reports started filtering in about the booms, blasts, and blitzes occurring around the seemingly infinite schools of bunkers slowly moving down the coast.

The Garden State’s second turkey season is underway.

It’s a freebie freshwater fishing day, no license and/or trout stamp is required, as per a long-running program with NJ DEP’s Fish & Wildlife.

Porgies (scup) are doing that amid the sea bass fervor on the party boats...and on more than a few charter and private boats dropping baits down to the wrecks, rubble, and other structures jutting from the ocean floor.

And continues through Wednesday, October 18.

So here it is for October 1-31: a 10-fish limit with a minimum possession length of 12.5 inches. There’s a bump to 15 sea bass from November 1 through New Year's Eve.

It’s a beach and bay assault that has actually been going on since, hmm, early July along certain beaches and in some of the bays, but the run of kingfish, aka “royals” is now going full tilt.