Last Updated on May 31, 2016 1:37 pm
On June 4 the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will open 34 trout streams and two lakes classified as delayed-harvest trout waters under hatchery-supported regulations.
From 6 a.m. until 11:59 a.m. on June 4, delayed-harvest trout waters are open only to anglers 15 years old and younger. At noon, waters open to all anglers. Delayed-harvest waters will stay open under hatchery-supported regulations through Sept. 30. During this time, anglers can keep up to seven trout per day — with no bait restrictions and no minimum size limits.
This year, Commission staff will stock 370,000 trout in waters designated as delayed harvest to provide anglers with better opportunities to catch fish, according to David Deaton, the Commission’s fish production supervisor.
“We stock delayed harvest streams in March, April, May and then again in October and November,” Deaton said. “In early summer, when some streams become too warm for trout to survive, we open these stocked streams to harvest under hatchery-supported regulations before stream conditions get too warm.”
Delayed-harvest trout waters are posted with diamond-shaped, black-and-white signs.
The Commission established the youth-only fishing period in the morning of “opening day,” which is always the first Saturday in June, to promote trout fishing among young anglers and to provide special opportunities for young anglers to catch and keep fish.
The Commission also supports youth-only fishing opportunities during National Fishing and Boating Week 2016. From late May through mid-June, more than 40 kids’ fishing events will be held throughout the state.
Anglers ages 16 and older need an inland fishing license and a special trout fishing privilege, which is included in the comprehensive and sportsman licenses, to fish in all public mountain trout waters, including delayed-harvest waters. Purchase licenses by:
- Going online, www.ncwildlife.org,
- Calling 1-888-2HUNTFISH (1-888-248-6834), or
- Visiting one of more than 1,000 Wildlife Service Agents located across the state.
For more information on trout fishing, including a list of delayed-harvest trout waters, regulation information and trout maps, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing/trout.