RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – Delayed Harvest Trout Waters rules will be put in place by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on 34 trout waters starting on October 1, 2022, and finishing a half hour after sunset on June 6, 2025.
The rules say that no trout can be caught or owned in these areas. People who fish can only use artificial lures with one hook and can’t have any wild bait. You can call a fishing bait “artificial” if it doesn’t have any smelly or tastey substances in it or has been treated with substances that do.
The NCWRC staff put a lot of trout into Delayed Harvest Trout Waters from fall to spring so that anglers have a better chance of getting fish. The diamond-shaped black-and-white signs that mark the Delayed Harvest Trout Waters say that they are popular fishing spots for people who like to catch and return trout.
While the Bobby N. Setzer State Fish Hatchery is getting a lot of work done, the NCWRC will stock fewer trout during the trout stocking seasons of 2025, 2026, and maybe even 2027. During this important process, NCWRC will keep the public informed.
This will eventually make sure that trout fishing will be a popular sport in North Carolina for many years to come. The announcement continues, “Watch a full video to learn more about why the hatchery is being fixed up, and check back at www.ncwildlife.org/setzer to see how things are going.”