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The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission opened approximately 1,120 miles of “Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters” in 25 western North Carolina counties at 6 a.m. on Saturday April 5. The season will run until one-half hour after sunset on Feb. 28, 2009.
While fishing on Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters, anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no minimum size limits or bait restrictions. Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters are marked by green-and-white signs. This year, Commission personnel are stocking hatchery-supported waters starting this month under a shortened stocking schedule. The Commission implemented a shortened stocking schedule in response to drought conditions forecasted for this spring and summer. If the drought continues, biologists expect that stream conditions will be less favorable later this the summer than they are now because water temperatures will be higher and flows lower. The Commission plans to stock more than 791,500 catchable-sized trout in streams designated as Hatchery-Supported and Delayed-Harvest Trout Waters. The ratio of stocked fish for most streams is 40 percent brook trout, 40 percent rainbow trout and 20 percent brown trout. Ninety-six percent of the stocked fish average 10 inches in length while the remaining fish exceed 14 inches in length. Commission biologists remind anglers to respect the property where they are fishing. A vast number of the waters currently available to hatchery-supported stockings are privately controlled, and anglers need to be aware that these fishing opportunities are only through the continued support of the private landowners. For trout fishing maps and weekly stocking summaries on Hatchery-Supported Trout Waters, click here. Note that stocking information appears online for only seven days, and updates are posted only after fish are stocked.
(Image provided by NC Wildlife.)
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