2024 Tagged Trout Drawing Winners Announced

LAKE HOPATCONG, N.J. (2/17/2025)

At the Lake Hopatcong Commission’s February meeting, the five winners from the 2024 tag returns were selected. Each person was awarded a $100 Windlass Gift Certificate generously donated by LiveTheLake. This is the third and final year at which tags from the year prior were randomly selected and $100 gift certificates awarded. This year’s winners were father and son Jeff and Hunter Good of Fredon, Karen Hatler of Hopatcong, Lou Marcucci of Mt. Arlington along with John Moran of Hopatcong.

As part of an extensive study to determine if trout are still able to survive year over year in Lake Hopatcong, The Lake Hopatcong Commission along with its partners in this study, The Knee Deep Club and The Lake Hopatcong Foundation, funded the stocking of one thousand 12-14 inch tagged brown trout for the last three years. Each year had a different colored tag affixed to the trout’s jaw to more easily identify which year the trout was stocked.

Additionally, financial grants were awarded by The New Jersey Highlands Council to conduct intensive water quality monitoring during the summer months. Instead of the typical water quality sampling that has been conducted at the lake on a monthly basis for decades, it was done on a weekly basis. This gave more granular data on the habitat required for trout, which are the only cold water fish specie in the lake. That monitoring was conducted by Trenton based Princeton Hydro, the Lake Hopatcong Commission’s environmental consultant. Each year of the study saw some dramatic changes in the deeper water where trout need to live during the summer months. Due to Climate Change we saw warmer water at medium depths than is ideal for trout. Additionally, because of other environmental stressors, oxygen was depleted in the much colder deeper water.

2022 and 2024 also saw extreme drought like conditions with the many streams that enter the lake running low or even dry. In past years trout would sometimes seek refuge in those spring fed streams during the summer months. 2023 saw somewhat better conditions and a much larger number of tagged fish reported. 2023 saw cooler summer atmospheric temperatures along with significant amounts of rainfall.

To date no year over year tagged trout have been reported, but the angling public is still asked to report any tagged trout. You can do so by going to LHCTROUT.com or filling out paper forms at Dow’s Boat Rental on Nolan’s Point or Lake’s End Marina in Landing. A final 2024 report will be submitted to the Lake Hopatcong Commission by Princeton Hydro this spring.