Receive More Rainbows

DANBURY, N.C. — The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, along with N.C. State Parks, will stock 1,200 catchable-size rainbow trout in Hanging Rock State Park's lake on Oct. 12 in support of the new trout fishery created in the Stokes County lake earlier this year.

This will be the Wildlife Commission's second stocking of rainbow trout in the 12-acre lake to give anglers a unique opportunity to fish for trout recreationally outside of traditional mountain trout waters. Commission staff conducted the first stocking of rainbow trout in April — an instant hit with anglers, according to Commission Fisheries Biologist Kin Hodges.

"Park staff reported that there was a major increase in fishing activity on the lake's pier as soon as the trout were stocked and they regularly observed anglers catching trout throughout the spring," Hodges said. "They also noticed a decline in the number of people fishing and the number of trout being caught as we got into early summer, suggesting that anglers had succeeded in harvesting most of the trout stocked in the lake by then."

Angler success in catching most, if not all the trout stocked, was the outcome Hodges had hoped for given that the trout, which prefer cold water, likely would not survive the summer months when lake temperatures rise and dissolved oxygen levels fall.

Anglers fishing the lake at Hanging Rock State Park can keep seven trout per day with no size limit or bait restrictions throughout the year. Additionally, no special trout fishing license is required, as it is in other Public Mountain Trout Waters. Anglers age 16 and older need only a basic North Carolina fishing license to catch fish in the lake, which also supports populations of largemouth bass, bluegill and redear sunfish.
The stockings, which will occur annually in April and October, complement a new, handicapped-accessible pier built in 2013 in a cooperative effort between the Commission and State Parks to enhance fishing opportunities in the park.
Stocking information for the lake is available on the Commission's "Trout Fishing in North Carolina" page http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/Species/Fish/Trout/TroutFishing.aspx. Click the link for "Weekly Trout Stocking Schedule" and select "Stokes County" to see which weeks in April and October the lake will be stocked.

About the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission
Since 1947, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has been dedicated to the conservation and sustainability of the state's fish and wildlife resources through research, scientific management, wise use, and public input. The Commission is the state regulatory agency responsible for the enforcement of fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws and provides programs and opportunities for wildlife-related educational, recreational and sporting activities. To learn more, visit www.ncwildlife.org.
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