To many Western North Carolina Anglers March indicates the beginning of the Spring Fly Fishing season! After many dark icy Winter months the daylight is finally growing longer and the river banks are coming to life with new vegetation and bugs! This truly is one of the best seasons to fly fish for trout in Western North Carolina. During March some rivers close to fisherman for a month long restocking, while others become flooded with anxious fisherman and truck loads of delayed harvest trout offerings! Here are a few things to know before you go sourced from www.ncwildlife.org!
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will close approximately 1,000 miles of Hatchery Supported Trout Waters to fishing at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 28 and reopen them at 7 a.m. on April 2.
While fishing is closed, Wildlife Commission staff will stock the designated waters, which are marked by green-and-white signs, in preparation for opening day.
Hatchery Supported Trout Waters are stocked at frequent intervals March through June annually. In 2022, Wildlife Commission personnel will stock approximately 964,000 trout — 96% of which will be at least 10 inches in length, with the other 4% exceeding 14 inches in length.
Anglers can harvest a maximum of seven trout per day, with no minimum size limit or bait restriction. These waters will remain open until Feb. 28, 2023.
These hatchery supported waters will be full of fish and ready to go on April 2. Until then you may want to check out some of the delayed harvest waters that are fishable during March. Below is a very useful pdf of the rivers that are classified as delayed harvest.
We wish you the best of luck during the Spring fishing season! We remind you to handle the fish and your fellow anglers with the upmost care and respect. After all we're all out there to have fun and enjoy NC's beautiful waters and fisheries!
If you need help getting on 'em or would like to dial in some fishing techniques, please reserve a day with our guide service as soon as possible as this is our busiest season of the year. Our guides instruct the tight line nymphing, dry fly, streamer, and indicator styles of fishing!
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