Donnie Thorne of Eatontown shows off a catch at Mohawk Pond in this 2006 file photo.

Fisherpersons, get ready to cast your lines.

Trout season begins Saturday. And next Wednesday, the state Division of Fish & Wildlife is scheduled to make its annual spring delivery of trout to Mohawk Pond in Count Basie Park, according to a stocking schedule posted yesterday on the agency’s website.

From a press release issued by F&W:

Come opening day, the DEP’s Division of Fish and Wildlife will have stocked 180,000 brook trout, brown trout and rainbow trout in nearly 200 waterways throughout New Jersey. A total of 570,000 trout will be stocked by the end of May.

All of the trout are raised at the state’s Pequest Trout Hatchery in Warren County. Most of the trout average 10.5 inches and weigh one-half pound. For even more angling excitement, the Division of Fish and Wildlife is stocking 6,000 big broodstock trout, which typically tip the scales at 3 pounds to 5 pounds and measure 14 inches to 19 inches. What’s more, lunker broodstock will be released in nine ponds and lakes, each receiving 30 fish to 50 fish – three to five times more than previously stocked as part of this popular program.

You can’t just show up and start fishing, though. Anglers aged 16 through 70 must buy a New Jersey fishing license and a trout stamp. They’re available online at the agency website, or from license agents throughout the state.

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