Trout Fee-Fishing Ponds In Western North Carolina

The N.C. Department of Agriculture's fee-fishing brochures, available free of charge by calling (919) 733-7125, include small maps to help you locate these fee-fishing trout ponds.

Trout fishing in the rugged mountains of North Carolina may not be practical for elderly anglers, physically impaired anglers, or families with young children. For these trout enthusiasts, "fee-fishing ponds" or "catch-out ponds" provide anglers easy access to trout and a virtual guarantee that anglers won't go home empty-handed.

Fee-fishing trout ponds are commercially operated sites heavily stocked with trout where anglers pay for the fish they catch by the pound. Most fee-fishing trout ponds require anglers to keep and pay for all of the fish they catch. The ponds are usually stocked with rainbow trout and prices generally range from $2.50 to $3.50 per pound.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission does not operate, stock or regulate fee-fishing ponds, which fall under the supervision of the N.C. Department of Agriculture. Anglers do not need fishing licenses or trout stamps to fish in these fee-fishing ponds. Nor do anglers have to adhere to size or creel limits when fishing in fee-fishing ponds. The Commission is providing this fee-fishing information to complement its information about trout fishing in public waters.

The following is a list of fee-fishing trout ponds excerpted from a brochure published in 1998 by the Division of Aquaculture and Natural Resources of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. For more information or to obtain a copy of the brochure, call the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services at (919) 733-7125.

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