N.J. Stat. § 23:5-11
Except as otherwise provided in section 23:5-3 of this Title, no person shall take or attempt to take fish from any of the waters of this State by any means prohibited by the State Fish and Game Code, or, in the absence of such provisions in said code, by means of any contrivance, except in the manner commonly known as angling with hand line or with rod and line, under a penalty of twenty dollars ($20.00) for each offense. Eels may be caught at any time by means of wicker eel baskets anchored on the bottom of streams and ponds, and minnows and other bait fish may be taken by such means, in such manner, in such waters, and under such circumstances prescribed by the State Fish and Game Code, or, in the absence of such provisions in said code with a seine not over fifty feet in length in all ponds and lakes which have an area of over one hundred acres, and in all other waters with a seine not over thirty feet in length, but in every such case, all trout, pickerel, bass, pike and pike perch captured therein shall be immediately released therefrom uninjured as far as practicable. Fish may also be taken in any manner under the direction of or by permission given by the Division of Fish and Game for stocking purposes.
N.J.S. § 23:5-11