Robert Ivan is the editor and publisher of RoundValleyFishing.com. He has been fishing Round Valley reservoir for over 15 years and has yet to catch anything bigger than 4lbs! He started this website to help him learn to be a better fisherman and he hopes you'll come along for the ride!
Pequest Open House and Fishing Flea Market
March 31 & April 1, 2012
10 a.m. – 4 p.m. daily
FREE!
Every year the Pequest Trout Hatchery and Natural Resource Education Center opens its doors to the public for the annual Open House, which usually takes place the weekend before Trout Season opens. The Open House allows the Division of Fish and Wildlife to show off the trout we raise at the state of the art Pequest Trout Hatchery and it serves as a reminder that spring is just around the corner.
Thanks to reader Jim S. for providing the following information:
“Mike and George announced that the 2012 RVTA Trophy Trout Stocking is scheduled for March 24 at 10 am. Approximate 100 Tagged Rainbows and Browns, between 21″ to 28″+, will be float stocked by RVTA members throughout the Valley. The derby is open to both members and non-members, alike. This year’s change: 2012 entries must be turned in by December 31, 2012.”
You can read about RVTA club stockings and more on their website.
The Fisheries Bureau hasn’t disclosed the results of the annual private fall gillnetting survey done at Merrill Creek and will keep stocking lakers there. Bureau Chief Lisa Barno said nobody had ever asked for the survey results.
Nobody has ever asked? I asked Biologist Shawn Crouse back in November of 2010 about Round Valley gillnet results. Here’s the email below:
Here's a screenshot of an email I sent to Shawn Crouse back in November 2010. I asked to see the Gillnet survey results and share them on RoundValleyFishing.com. (click image to see it bigger))
As you can see, I asked to share the results of the Round Valley Gillnet Survey. Shawn’s response was that, “the information is not written into reports.” That’s fine and I don’t begrudge Shawn for not sharing at the time, but CLEARLY I asked and I can’t believe I’m the only one.
So would you like to see the results of all the lake trout gillnet surveys for Round Valley Reservoir and Merrill Creek Reservoir?
While at the NJ Fly Fishing Show in Somerset NJ this year I purchased an unassuming DVD from an unassuming booth near the entryway. The DVD is called Discovery and is volume one in filmmaker/fly fisherman Wendell Ozefovich’s (Ozzie) four part lecture program entitled, The Underwater World of Trout.
Discovery
In this unique video you will be taken into The Underwater World of Trout. The view under the stream is not as bucolic and stable as you have come to believe. A stream is alive, not just with trout and insects, but with minnows, crayfish, and a varied mix of living things. What looks like crystal clear water is chock full of sticks, leaves, bubbles and larvae. This exploration of a trout’s world, from under the surface, opens your eyes to a new appreciation of trout and their living world.
There are no staged aquarium shots; these trout are in their natural environment. There is also footage of sea-run rainbow and brown trout. There are wild fish and stocked fish, fighting fish and spawning fish. You will see beneath the surface as trout feed on drifting invertebrates and surface flies, and how a trout views an angler through its window.
There is a segment on electrofishing and stream bank restoration, which will show that anglers, together with private conservation organizations and government agencies, can work together toward a common goal. This is one of the few presentations that almost everyone from rank beginner to crusty old cuss walks away having learned something!
My four year old son and I watched the 52 minute DVD together and we both enjoyed it immensely. I have watched the video half a dozen times since, watching and learning each time. Ozzie’s narration is clear and well structured for learning. The underwater footage alone confirmed and refuted several assumptions I had made about what was going on under the water.
I have an upcoming interview with Ozzie about him and his work on these videos. If you’d like to ask him a question please post it below, on our Facebook page, Twitter, or email.
About Ozzie
Ozzie has been filming and videotaping for more than four decades, so he has the skill and equipment to produce a quality experience. He is an accomplished fly fisherman who looks at a river not just as an angler, but also as a filmmaker. He asks the same questions you do—sometimes finding answers, sometimes finding more questions to ask. visit his website at www.UnderwaterOz.com
Washington Crossing Audubon Society (www.washingtoncrossingaudubon.org) will host a birding field trip led by Mark Witmer from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM on Sunday, Feb. 12, to the Round Valley Reservoir in Hunterdon County.
This 180-foot deep reservoir is a year-round site for birding, but especially popular in the Winter for gulls, waterfowl, visiting raptors, nesting bald eagles, and over-wintering owls.
Meet at the main boat launch in the Northwest corner of the park (about 1 mile North of the main entrance). Contact Mark Witmer (609-730-0826) for more information, directions, or notice of trip cancellation due to inclement weather.
Depending on birding and weather conditions, the trip may include a visit to nearby Spruce Run Recreational Area or the Alpha Grasslands. The public is invited, and there is no charge for this or any other WCAS-sponsored field trip.
