Anglers looking to reel in a trout for supper may soon be giving up their familiar spots in area streams for a more urban location.
The NC Wildlife Resources Commission has agreed to stock 900 trout in Harris Lake in Highlands during the winter months to ease overcrowding in area hatcheries.
“Because of COVID-19 and other factors, the commission didn’t stock as many trout as they normally do in our trout streams,” Highlands Mayor Patrick Taylor said. “In November they sent out notice that they had extra trout available and asked if any municipalities had ponds suitable for stocking.”
Taylor offered up Harris Lake, located between 5th Street and Leonard Road along Smallwood Avenue, as a place to deposit excess fish and the commission agreed.
“The NCWRC wants people to catch the fish in accordance with the normal trout fishing regulations and keep them,” Taylor said. “This additional stocking isn’t a catch and release model. They want the trout to end up on someone’s dinner table, so we encourage people to cast a line and do their part.”
According to the NCWRC, biologists and staff members stocked more than 60,000 trout into 39 impoundments across Western North Carolina in December.
When fishing in these waters, anglers can harvest up to seven trout per day — with no bait restrictions and no minimum size limits. Anglers need only a basic fishing license, which can be purchased online, by calling 1-888-248-6834 or by visiting one of more than 1,000 Wildlife Service Agents located across the state.
Along with Harris Lake in Highlands, additional trout were also stocked into Cashiers Public Pond in Jackson County and Lake Imagining in Transylvania County.