DuPont State Recreational Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Hendersonville, North Carolina, provides not only a scenic setting for trout fishing, but also a unique one.
The delayed harvest waters of Little River flow through undisturbed mountains and over several notable waterfalls. Those same waters were immortalized on Hollywood’s silver screen as the backdrop for the exploits of Katniss Everdeen in the original Hunger Games movie.
Movie buffs who wet a line on Little River in the DuPont Forest will no doubt recognize Triple Falls, which played a prominent role in multiple scenes in the movie. But there is good news for anglers: spending time on this stretch of Little River does not involve the life or death struggle it did in Hunger Games. Everyone is expected to come out alive.
Many anglers also come out happy as this 1.8-mile stretch of Little River is stocked annually with a combination of 7,750 brook, rainbow and brown trout. North Carolina Wildlife regulations require a valid fishing license and the delayed harvest designation means it is single-hook artificial lures only with no harvesting of fish from Oct. 1 through the first Friday in June.
Starting the first Saturday in June and continuing through Sept. 30, there are no bait restrictions and a creel limit of seven trout per day with no minimum length on trout harvested.
Because DuPont is a state recreational forest, there is ample parking in both the Hooker Falls Access Area and the High Falls Access Areas, with wide, easy-to-navigate trails to many of the key fishing spots. One downside to fishing this stretch of Little River is the popularity of the trails and waterfalls with those who do not fish. Expect plenty of hikers and sightseers, especially on nice weekends.
And when the fishing is done, Hendersonville provides plenty of options for outdoor exploring, listening to live music, sipping craft beverages and enjoying great meals. The town’s main street has a serpentine shape surrounded by pedestrian-friendly sidewalks punctuated by planting beds, park benches and outdoor dining.
The abundance of orchards makes Henderson County an ideal location for hard cider fans. Three cideries offer tasting rooms: Flat Rock Ciderworks on Main Street, Bold Rock Hard Cider in Mills River and Appalachian Ridge Artisan Ciders in a 1940s-era barn-turned-cidery. Another craft beverage experience is the East Coast location of Sierra Nevada Brewery, considered the Taj Mahal of craft breweries in the eastern U.S.