Lil-Le-Hi receives 15,660 fingerling trout for future stocking in local streams

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Last Wednesday, the Lil-Le-Hi Trout Nursery in Allentown received a total of 15,660 trout fingerlings for their holding ponds that nursery volunteers feed and raise until they’re ready to be stocked in local streams.

Of that number, there were 4,200 brook Trout, 11,300 rainbow trout and 160, 4-5-inch golden trout. The Pennsylvania Fish Commission delivered the fingerlings in their aerated fleet of white stocking trucks, however, there were no brown trout delivered because the Little Lehigh Creek that runs adjacent to the nursery, is Class A trout waters that hold native trout. 

When arriving at the nursery, the fingerlings are 1-3 inches long after being hatched from eggs at the fish commissions’ Benner Springs Trout Hatchery in Midstate.

The trout will live at the nursery for about two years and until they reach about 14-16 ounces before being released into area streams. Their average size upon being released into local streams is about 12 inches. To get to that size, trout need to eat about 1.6 pounds of food daily to grow to a pound during their two-year stay at the nursery. In addition to being fed daily by volunteers, visitors can buy fish food at the nursery for supplemental feeding. For kids, even adults, it’s an enjoyable experience to see the trout jump and splash to catch the pellets fed to them during their feeding frenzy’s. 

Currently, there are 2,000 mature trout in the nursery that are waiting to be stocked in local streams by the volunteers. But because of low and warm water conditions, the stocking is on hold. We’ll keep you posted when they will be.

NEW JERSEY SHORE FISHING

If your late summer vacation takes you to the Jersey shore, your timing may be good as our reporters from On the Water Magazine say that tuna fishing is at the top of the charts right now with inshore bluefin and offshore yellowfin, plus bigeye, grabbing the attention. 

Added to this, they say fluking is good for both surfcasters and boaters. Bluefishing is picking up for boat and beach anglers. At the same time mahi-mahi and bonito are starting to show up. It’s surmised that Spanish mackerel and false albacore can’t be far behind. 

Sea bass fishing has also been good with lots of jumbos caught and as summer is in the home stretch, crabbing is sensational. 
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The  Tackle Box in Hazlet reports fluke action in the Sandy Hook surf offers lots of action, however there aren’t many keepers. A lot of bunker are showing up offshore and big bluefish were blowing them close to the Atlantic Beach Reef. There was also cobia in the area along with loads of sharks. Anglers are pitching live eels into the bunker to hook cobia. There are also mahi-mahi showing up on the pots while Crabbing is off the charts. 

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