COVID-19 Blues? Try Some Free Fishing in Morris County THIS Saturday

Published on June 05, 2020

State DEP Holding Free Fishing Day --With Social Distancing

New anglers and those already hooked on fishing are encouraged to visit their favorite waterway on Saturday, June 6 for the first Free Fishing Day of the year, the Department of Environmental Protection has announced.(JPG, 64KB)

Anglers are required to maintain a 6-foot distance from one another and are encouraged to wear face masks or coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

"Freshwater fishing in New Jersey has never been better, with more kinds of fish and more places for people to catch them than ever before," said Division of Fish and Wildlife Director Dave Golden.

"Cold, clear streams support a top-rate trout fishery, and our warm-water fishing for species such as northern pike, channel catfish, largemouth and smallmouth bass and pickerel, as well as numerous pan fish species, is outstanding," he added.

Take a look at North Jersey warm water and cool water game fish. See fishing locations below.

Free Fishing Days are held annually in conjunction with National Fishing and Boating Week. Anglers are welcome to fish in New Jersey's public waterways on June 6 without a license or trout stamp, but all other regulations, including size and daily catch limits will remain in effect. A second Free Fishing Day will be held Oct. 17.

(JPG, 174KB)Family member who has never been fishing, to interest them in a healthy and fun activity.

After the Free Fishing Day, anglers may introduce friends or family members to fishing by getting a Fishing Buddy License. The license is available at reduced cost for existing anglers and beginners, or two new anglers.

Get more information about Free Fishing Days.

Anglers are urged to respect private landowners who allow fishing on their properties by obeying boundary signs and not littering. Fishing regulations may be found in the New Jersey Freshwater Fishing Digest.

Where to fish in Morris County? Here are some locations:

Morris County
Water	Nearest Town	Acres	Car Top Launch	Boat Ramp	Outboard Allowed
Atwater Pond	Chester	2	N	N	N
Budd Lake	Budd Lake	376	Y	Y	Y
Burnham Park Pond	Morristown	4	N	N	N
Community Park Pond (Walrus Pond)	Morris Plains	4	N	N	N
Hedden Park Lake	Dover	6	N	N	N
Kays Pond	Milltown	7	N	N	N
Lake Ames	Hibernia	16	N	N	N
Lake George	Washington Twp.	8	N	N	N
Lake Hopatcong	Mt. Arlington	2,685	Y	Y	Y
Lake Musconetcong	Stanhope	329	Y	Y	Y
Mt. Hope Pond	Rockaway	18	N	N	N
Saffin's Pond	Milton	12	N	N	N
Silas Condict Park Lake	Kinnelon	10	N	N	N
Speedwell Lake	Morristown	23	N	N	N
Sunrise Lake	Brookside	3	N	N	N

Morris County
Black River	Black River WMA	Ironia-Chester	4.5	12
Black River	Black River Park	Milltown-Hackelbarney	0.8	12
Black (Lamington) River	Hackelbarney St. Park	Pottersville	1.3	18
Electric Brook	Camp Washington Park	Long Valley	0.3	8
India Brook	Mendham Twp. Park	Mendham	1.3	8
Passaic River	Passaic River Park	Chatham	2.4	95
Raritan River S/Br.	Claremont Section	Long Valley	1.1	44
Raritan River S/Br.	Bartley-Flanders Rd. Access	Flanders	0.3	27
Rockaway River	Berkshire Valley WMA	Berkshire Valley	2.0	32
Rockaway River	Rockaway River WMA	Berkshire Valley	2.4	30