Trout fishing is a big deal in North Carolina! Here are five cool facts about trout fishing in our state:

1.      It brings in money and jobs. Trout fishing is a huge economic benefit to our state. In 2014, it brought in an estimated $383 million and supported 3,600 jobs each year.

2.      NC has more native populations of Brook Trout than anywhere in the Southeast! The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) carefully manages these populations, and also . . .

Ten years have passed since a harvest moratorium for river herring was put in place in North Carolina’s waters, and anglers are asking questions. “What’s the status of the river herring population in North Carolina?” “Can we fish for river herring now?” “Can we use herring for bait again?” “What are the criteria for relaxing the harvest moratorium on river herring?”

Answers to these questions and more about alewife and blueback herring — collectively called “river herring” — can be found in a new fact sheet about river herring developed by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

One of our long-time Facebook followers Bob Daw has seen a lot in his 66 years on earth. An avid fisherman and outdoor enthusiast, Bob lives on beautiful Blounts Creek in Beaufort County and spends much of his free time fishing, taking photographs and just enjoying the bountiful natural resources offered by Blounts Creek. He recently submitted the photo above, reminiscing about some favorite memories of mid-winter fishing in his youth. He is our guest blogger for this month. This is Goldsboro fishermen Scott Mooring showing one of his fat Raccoon Perch that he caught in Blounts Creek.  I am 66 years old, and one of my favorite memories as a ten year old farm boy living down a path, off a dirt road in Goldsboro was my daddy and uncles waiting for the second week of January to convoy our old trucks & small boats towards Cotton Patch Landing to catch Raccoon Perch.  Blounts Creek offers different types of fish  for all seasons of the year.  Old timers...

If you love to fish or simply keep up with fishing-related news stories, then you’ve likely heard about Zakk Royce. Zakk is the Murfreesboro angler who caught not one but two state record blue catfishes in a 24-hour period in December in Lake Gaston.  The first fish Zakk caught weighed 91 pounds; the second 105 pounds. Incredibly, he released both fish alive so that other anglers, perhaps Zakk himself, could experience the opportunity of reeling in a monster fish. While various news media reported the amazing feat, we have the story in Zakk’s own words below. Also, check out this cool video of the catches here, courtesy of Zakk and his father, Jon Royce. “I started out Sunday morning catching fish up to 30 pounds as soon as I started fishing. About an hour or two into fishing that morning suddenly my rod off the port side of my boat bent completely over. I grabbed the fishing rod and knew it was biggest fish immediately. 20 minutes or...

As savvy visitors to western North Carolina know, a fishing rod and tackle box can be as essential as ski poles and a down jacket in the winter — a time when, if you know where to go and what to fish for, the fishing can be as good, if not better, than other times of the year. We asked two fisheries biologists with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission to give us their recommendations for where to fish and what to use if you’re visiting the western part of our state this winter, or, if you’re lucky enough to call this area home year-round. This week, we’ll talk about trout fishing with Kin Hodges, a fisheries biologist with the Commission. Hodges, who lives and works in the northwestern part of the state in Surry County, suggested that trout anglers try the Ararat River in Mt. Airy, between the N.C. 103 Bridge and Hwy. 52. This 2-mile section of the river was designated as Delayed-Harvest Trout Water in August, and opened to the public this fall....