Thomas Harvey
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has modified the schedule of trout stockings at multiple ‘delayed harvest’ locations in Western North Carolina due to unseasonable hot weather.
The commission had planned to stock 36 streams, rivers and other waterways on October 1. However, “commission staff have been monitoring water temperatures and are making adjustments,” the commission noted in a statement issued this week.
This meant either reduced or delayed stocking.
Under Delayed Harvest Trout Waters regulations, no trout can be harvested or possessed from these waters between Oct. 1 and one half-hour after sunset on June 5, 2020. 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 says anglers fishing Delayed Harvest Trout Waters must also 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 complete list of Delayed Harvest Trout Waters, stocking dates, information on regulations and trout fishing maps, visit the Commission’s trout fishing page.