North Carolina’s delayed harvest trout waters opened Oct. 1, marking a day trout fishermen have been awaiting throughout the long hot and wet summer.
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is stocking designated sections of 34 trout waters across 20 western North Carolina counties in preparation for the season. Delayed harvest waters will be managed as catch-and-release-only until they open under regular hatchery regulations in June 2019.
Under delayed harvest trout waters regulations, no trout can be harvested or possessed from these waters. No natural bait may be possessed, and anglers can fish only with artificial lures with one single hook. An artificial lure is defined as a fishing lure that neither contains nor has been treated with any substance that attracts fish by the sense of taste or smell.
The Wildlife Commission stocks delayed harvest trout waters from fall through spring with high densities of trout to increase anglers’ chances of catching fish. Delayed harvest trout waters, posted with diamond-shaped, black-and-white signs, are popular fishing destinations for anglers who enjoy catch-and-release trout fishing.
The Commission reminds anglers fishing Delayed Harvest Trout Waters to help prevent the spread of aquatic nuisance species, such as whirling disease, gill lice and didymo, by:
• cleaning equipment of all aquatic plants and animals and mud;
• draining water from boat, live wells and equipment;
• drying equipment thoroughly;
• never moving fish, plants or other organisms from one body of water to another.
For a list of delayed harvest waters, see the trout fishing pages of the NCWRC website at www.ncwildlife.org.