The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) will wait until November to stock Delayed Harvest Trout Waters. Impacts from an unusually hot summer, coupled with the ongoing drought conditions and damage from Hurricane Helene, have caused lethally high water temperatures flowing into the state’s mountain trout hatcheries, thus reducing the number of available fish to stock. As water temperatures cool, commission staff will be able to determine the number of trout available for stocking this fall and adjust the schedule as necessary.
Staff estimate that since June, they’ve lost around 70% of the fish at Armstrong State Fish Hatchery, which were being grown to catchable size for the upcoming Delayed Harvest trout stocking season.
