A severe, late-January cold snap froze rivers and creeks in many areas and stunned and/or killed trout in several places along the coast.
North Carolina’s Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan includes a provision that if a severe stun/kill event occurs in four or more counties, the fishery must be closed, so kills in multiple counties forced the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to close the season until June 15 to allow surviving trout to spawn before they can be removed from the population.
The most severe kill was in the Pungo River near Belhaven and affected two counties. Other large stun/kill events were reported on the Alligator and Scuppernong Rivers, with smaller reports from as far south as the Cape Fear River below Wilmington. A proclamation closing the season was issued on Feb. 5.
While stuns and kills were severe in some areas, they were limited, and the damage to the trout populations wasn’t as severe as first feared. Many fishermen reported excellent catch-and-release fishing for specks all winter and through the spring, with good numbers of fish and an abundance of large fish.
Capt. Richard Andrews of Tar-Pam Guide Service said trout fishing in April was some of the best in years in the Pamlico River and Pamlico Sound. Capt. Joey VanDyke of Fingeance Sportfishing gave the same report for sound waters from Oregon Inlet to Hatteras. Capt. Joe Ward of Flydaddy Charters in New Bern said the spring fishing was as good as it had been in years, and Capt. Ricky Kellum of Speckled Specialist Guide Service also reported excellent trout fishing in the New River.
Chip Collier, NCDMF’s lead biologist for speckled trout, said he and other biologists feel like trout numbers will be lower this year than in 2013 and believes a spring survey will provide numbers closer to 2012 levels.
For more information on speckled trout, the closure and the Spotted Seatrout FMP, visit the MFC website at www.ncdmf.net.
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