Opening Day of Trout Season, and the Fish Played Hard-to-Get

At 8 a.m. Saturday, Holmdel Park Ranger Thomas Osborne sounded a horn from his pick-up truck and dozens of excited fishermen lining the pond at Holmdel Park cast their lines into the trout-stocked water. April 9 was the official opening of trout fishing season. More than 200 9-inch trout were swimming in the scenic, glassy lake. Just there, waiting to be caught.

A few hours later, some of the fishermen were packing up their gear and trudging back to the parking lot with empty buckets. "The fish are not biting," grumbled one fisherman. It was 11 a.m., and all they knew was that around the lake, ringed with about 40 men and a few boys, only one guy in a tan jacket had one. Him, and a guy around the bend had one. But that was it. 

Theories were floated. The birds had swooped down and snatched the fish up. The imported trout were suffering culture shock. Or, that it just wasn't a lucky day.