Newark Pequannock Watershed: Fishing Season Opens April 9

Newark, NJ – Newark city officials announced that the 2016 fishing season at the Newark Pequannock Watershed in West Milford will begin on Saturday, April 9 and continue through November 30.

According to a city news release, anglers wishing to fish in the Watershed must have a current New Jersey State fishing license and a City of Newark Watershed fishing permit.

The license and permit can be purchased daily at Newark City Hall, 920 Broad Street, Room B-12, Newark, NJ 07102, (973) 733-4784, or at the Watershed Permit Office at 223 Echo Lake Road, West Milford, NJ 07840.

Call the permit office at (973) 697-1724 for more information.

"We are pleased to provide New Jersey's sportsmen with an opportunity to take advantage of a good fishing season on our beautiful Pequannock Watershed," Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said. "I urge all visitors to follow our regulations, to ensure their own safety and those of others. Please be a responsible fisherman."

Fishing hours are from sunrise to sunset, city officials stated.

Additionally, stream fishing is allowed, but it requires a separate, daily permit (for $2) which can be issued up to one week in advance.

The Newark Watershed supports both warm water species such as bass and sunfish and cold water species such as trout and muskellunge as noted below:

• ECHO LAKE RESERVOIR - contains sunfish, chain pickerel, yellow perch, largemouth bass, black crappies and muskies.
• CLINTON RESERVOIR - contains sunfish, yellow perch, catfish, smallmouth and largemouth bass; chain pickerel, brown and rainbow trout.
• OAK RIDGE RESERVOIR - contains smallmouth and largemouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch and sunfish.
• CANISTEAR RESERVOIR - contains smallmouth and largemouth bass; sunfish, yellow perch and walleyes.

According to a news release, the City of Newark's Pequannock Watershed is a 35,000 acre natural resource purchased by the City in 1900. It is located in portions of six separate municipalities in Morris, Passaic and Sussex Counties.

The local resource - from a land-use perspective - is managed by the City of Newark's Department of Neighborhood and Recreational Services' Division of Watershed Development.

The Watershed has four reservoirs that are open to recreational boating and fishing. The average reservoir is 396 acres and the average depth is 43 feet.

Maps to locate these reservoirs are available in both the Newark and West Milford offices.

According to city officials, the Newark Watershed is also designed to accommodate year-round recreational activities which also include hiking, horseback riding, and hunting during the appropriate seasons.

No camp fires, picnics, unleashed pets, or all-terrain vehicles (ATV) are permitted within the Watershed property.

FISHING FEES

• Non-Newark residents: $25
• Newark Residents: $14
• Non-Newark Family: $30
• Newark Family: $15
• Non-Newark Senior: $14
• Newark Senior: $8

File photo via Flickr Commons

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