Hatchery Supported Trout Waters Closed to Fishing, Feb. 29 until April 4

RALEIGH, NC (February 25, 2020) — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will close approximately 1,000 miles of Hatchery Supported Trout Waters to fishing one-half hour after sunset on Feb. 29 and reopen them at 7 a.m. on April 4. 

While fishing is closed, Commission personnel will stock all Hatchery Supported Trout Waters in preparation for opening day. Staff stocks Hatchery Supported Trout Waters, which are marked by green-and-white signs, at frequent intervals in the spring and early summer every year.

This year, Commission personnel will stock approximately 916,000 trout — 96 percent of which average 10 inches in length, with the other 4 percent exceeding 14 inches in length.

While fishing on Hatchery Supported Trout Waters, anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no minimum size limit or bait restriction. Hatchery Supported Trout Waters are open from 7 a.m. on the first Saturday in April until one-half hour after sunset on the last day of February the following year.

For more information on trout fishing in North Carolina, visit the Commission’s trout fishing page, or call the Inland Fisheries Division, 919-707-0220.