Warmwater Game Fish Regulations

State waters are classified as: inland, joint and coastal (see “General Information” on Inland Fishing Regulations). These state waters are collectively referred to as public fishing waters. Certain fishes, including largemouth bass, crappie and mountain trout are designated inland game fish and under the jurisdiction of the Wildlife Resources Commission in all public waters; whereas, other species, including striped bass, white and yellow perch, flounder and red drum, are designated as inland game fish only in inland waters (see list on Inland Fishing Regulations).
Warmwater Game Fish |
||
Location |
Size Limit |
Daily Creel Limit* |
Largemouth Bass |
||
All public waters except those listed below |
14-inch minimum, except 2 may be less than 14 inches |
5, including only 2 less than 14 inches |
In the following waters and their tributaries:
Pungo Lake (Washington and Hyde counties) New Lake (Hyde Co.) Lake Raleigh (Wake Co.) Sutton Lake (New Hanover Co.) |
14-inch minimum |
5 |
Buckhorn Reservoir (Wilson and Nash counties) |
16-inch minimum |
5 |
Cane Creek Lake (Union Co.) |
||
Lake Mattamuskeet and associated canals (Hyde Co.) |
16-inch minimum, and only 1 may be greater than 20 inches |
5, including only 1 greater than 20 inches |
Lake Thom-A-Lex (Davidson Co.) |
18-inch minimum |
5 |
Lake Hampton (Yadkin Co.) Shearon Harris Reservoir (Chatham and Wake counties) |
14-inch minimum, except 2 may be less than 14 inches and none between 16–20 inches may be possessed |
5, including only 2 less than 14 inches |
Lake Phelps |
14-inch minimum and none between 16–20 inches may be possessed |
5 |
New River (Alleghany Co. portion downstream of Fields Dam in Grayson Co., Va.) |
No minimum size, none between 14–22 inches may be possessed, and only 1 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass may be greater than 22 inches |
5 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass in combination, including only 1 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass greater than 22 inches |
Lake Cammack (Alamance Co.) |
No minimum size limit, and only 2 may be greater than 14 inches |
10, including only 2 greater than 14 inches |
Lake Holt (Granville Co.) |
||
Lake Santeetlah (Graham Co.) |
No minimum size limit, and only 5 largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in combination may be greater than 14 inches |
No daily creel limit for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass less than 14 inches, and only 5 largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in combination may be greater than 14 inches |
Lake Chatuge (Clay Co.) |
12-inch minimum |
10 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Alabama bass, and spotted bass in combination |
Jean Guite Creek and associated canals within the Town of Southern Shores (Dare Co.) |
No largemouth bass may be possessed |
No largemouth bass may be possessed |
Ponds associated with Martin Marietta Park (Craven Co.) |
||
Smallmouth Bass |
||
All public waters except those listed below |
14-inch minimum, except 2 may be less than 14 inches |
5, including only 2 less than 14 inches |
New River (Alleghany Co. portion downstream of Fields Dam in Grayson Co., Va.) |
No minimum size, none between 14–22 inches may be possessed, and only 1 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass may be greater than 22 inches |
5 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass in combination, including only 1 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass greater than 22 inches |
Lake Santeetlah (Graham Co.) |
No minimum size limit, and only 5 largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in combination may be greater than 14 inches |
No daily creel limit for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass less than 14 inches, and only 5 largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in combination may be greater than 14 inches |
Lake Chatuge (Clay Co.) |
No minimum size limit |
10 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Alabama bass, and spotted bass in combination |
Alabama Bass and Spotted Bass |
||
All public waters except those listed below |
None |
None |
New River (Alleghany Co. portion downstream of Fields Dam in Grayson Co., Va.) |
No minimum size, none between 14–22 inches may be possessed, and only 1 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass may be greater than 22 inches |
5 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and spotted bass in combination, including only 1 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, or spotted bass greater than 22 inches |
Lake Chatuge (Clay Co.) |
No minimum size limit |
10 largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, Alabama bass, and spotted bass in combination |
Redeye Bass |
||
All public waters |
14-inch minimum, except 2 may be less than 14 inches |
5, including only 2 less than 14 inches |
Striped bass and Bodie bass (striped bass hybrid) |
||
Inland impoundments and tributaries |
||
Impounded inland waters and their tributaries except those listed below |
20-inch minimum |
4 in combination |
In the following waters:
|
Oct. 1–May 31: 20-inch minimum June 1–Sept. 30: No minimum size limit |
Oct. 1–May 31: 2 in combination June 1–Sept. 30: 4 in combination |
Lake Gaston |
Oct. 1–May 31: 20-inch minimum June 1–Sept. 30: No minimum size limit |
4 in combination |
Roanoke Rapids Reservoir |
||
Lake Norman, Hyco Lake, Moss Lake, Mountain Island Reservoir, Oak Hollow Lake, Lake Thom-A-Lex, Lake Townsend, and Salem Lake |
16-inch minimum |
4 in combination |
Lake Chatuge (Clay Co.) |
No minimum size limit, and only 2 fish may be greater than 22 inches |
15 in combination, including only 2 greater than 22 inches |
Coastal Rivers and Impoundments |
||
Roanoke River Striped Bass Management Area including:
|
Season - March 1–April 30 (unless closed or extended by proclamation): 18-inch minimum, no fish between 22–27 inches |
Season - March 1–April 30 (unless closed or extended by proclamation): Daily creel limit of 1 |
Albemarle Sound Striped Bass Management Area (including Roanoke Sound, Croatan Sound, Albemarle Sound, Currituck Sound and Chowan, Yeopim, Perquimans, Little, Pasquotank, North, Alligator and Scuppernong rivers and their tributaries) |
Established by Division of Marine Fisheries |
|
Central-Southern Striped Bass Management Area, inland waters including:
|
No striped bass may be possessed. |
|
Central-Southern Striped Bass Management Area, joint waters including:
|
No striped bass may be possessed. |
|
Central-Southern Striped Bass Management Area, coastal waters including:
|
Established by Division of Marine Fisheries |
|
In the following waters:
|
18-inch minimum |
3 in combination |
Ponds associated with Martin Marietta Park (Craven Co.) |
No striped bass may be possessed. |
|
Sunfish (except species listed below) |
||
All public fishing waters except those listed below |
None |
|
In the following waters and their tributaries:
|
None |
30 in combination, including no more than 12 redbreast sunfish |
Crappie (black and white) |
||
All public fishing waters except those listed below |
None |
|
In the following waters and their tributaries:
|
8-inch minimum |
20 in combination |
John H. Kerr Reservoir |
9-inch minimum |
25 in combination |
B. Everett Jordan Reservoir |
10-inch minimum |
20 in combination |
Roanoke River (downstream of Roanoke Rapids Dam), Cashie, Middle and Eastmost rivers and their tributaries |
||
Lake Mattamuskeet and associated canals (Hyde Co.) |
||
Buckhorn Reservoir (Wilson and Nash counties) |
None |
20 in combination |
Lake Chatuge (Clay Co.) |
None |
30 in combination |
Rock bass and Roanoke bass |
||
All public fishing waters except those listed below |
None |
|
All public waters east of I-77 |
8-inch minimum |
2 in combination |
White bass |
||
All inland fishing waters |
14-inch minimum |
10 |
White Perch |
||
All inland fishing waters except those listed below |
None |
None |
All public fishing waters in and west of Haywood, Buncombe and Rutherford counties |
No live white perch may be possessed, transported or released. |
|
American and hickory shad |
||
All inland fishing waters except those listed below |
None |
10 in combination, including no more than 1 American shad |
Cape Fear River and its tributaries |
None |
10 in combination, including no more than 5 American shad |
Tar-Pamlico River, Pungo River, Pee Dee River, and their tributaries |
None |
10 in combination |
Lake Gaston |
No American shad may be possessed |
|
Roanoke Rapids Reservoir |
||
John H. Kerr Reservoir |
||
Spotted sea trout, flounder, and red drum |
||
All inland fishing waters |
Same as those recreational limits established by Division of Marine Fisheries in adjacent joint and coastal fishing waters. For current limits, visit portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/recreational-fishing-size-and-bag-limits or call 252-726-7021 or 800-682-2632. |
|
Walleye |
||
All public fishing waters except those listed below |
None |
8 |
Lake James and tributaries |
15-inch minimum |
8 |
Linville River upstream from N.C. 126 bridge |
None |
4 |
Lake Gaston |
18-inch minimum |
5 |
Roanoke Rapids Reservoir |
||
John H. Kerr Reservoir |
||
Muskellunge |
||
All public fishing waters |
42-inch minimum |
1 |
Sauger |
||
All public fishing waters |
15-inch minimum |
8 |
Kokanee salmon |
||
All public fishing waters |
None |
4 |
BLACK BULLHEAD, BROWN BULLHEAD, FLAT BULLHEAD, SNAIL BULLHEAD, WHITE CATFISH, AND YELLOW BULLHEAD |
||
All inland fishing waters |
None |
10 in combination |
All other warmwater game fishes |
||
All public fishing waters |
None |
Regulations for Mountain Trout
Brook, brown and rainbow trout require cold, clean water and are therefore generally restricted to mountain streams and lakes. Those mountain waters that support trout and are open to public fishing are designated as “Public Mountain Trout Waters” by the Wildlife Resources Commission and are managed for public trout fishing. A significant number of trout fishing opportunities in western North Carolina are located on private property. These landowners have generously allowed public access for fishing. Please respect their property. Your cooperation is needed
to protect fishing opportunities for future generations. The Commission conspicuously marks Public Mountain Trout Waters with regulation signs that indicate locations for public access. When anglers encounter “posted against trespass” signs along these designated sections on private lands, they should respect the property owner’s rights and choose another location along that stream to fish. Maps of trout water and their classifications may be viewed at ncwildlife.org/trout.
Mountain Trout |
|||
Location/Season |
Size Limit |
Daily Creel Limit* |
Lures/Bait Restrictions* |
HATCHERY SUPPORTED TROUT WATERS |
|||
Aug. 1, 2021 – Feb. 28, 2022 7 a.m. April 2, 2022 – July 31, 2022
|
None |
7 |
None |
March 1, 2022 – April 1, 2022 **No fishing allowed
|
** |
** |
** |
No closed season
|
None |
7 |
None |
WILD TROUT WATERS |
|||
No closed season |
7 inches |
4 |
Artificial lures with a single hook. |
WILD TROUT NATURAL BAIT WATERS |
|||
No closed season |
7 inches |
4 |
Artificial lures or natural bait with a single hook. No live fish allowed as bait. |
DELAYED HARVEST TROUT WATERS |
|||
Oct. 1, 2021 – June 3, 2022 **No trout may be possessed **No fishing allowed from ½ hour after sunset on June 3, 2022, to 6 a.m. on June 4, 2022 |
** |
** |
Artificial lures with a single hook. Natural bait may not be possessed. ** |
Aug 1, 2021 – Sept. 30, 2021 June 4, 2022 – July 31, 2022 (Note: youth under 18 years old only fishing from 6 a.m. until noon on June 4, 2022) |
None |
7 |
None |
CATCH AND RELEASE / ARTIFICIAL FLIES and Lures ONLY TROUT WATERS |
|||
No closed season **No trout may be possessed |
** |
** |
Artificial flies and lures with a single hook. Natural bait may not be possessed. |
SPECIAL REGULATION TROUT WATERS |
|||
No closed season
|
14 inches |
2 |
None |
|
None but only one trout may be greater than 14 inches |
3 including only one trout greater than 14 inches |
None |
Undesignated TROUT WATERS |
|||
No closed season |
None |
7 |
None |
