North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 10 - WILDLIFE RESOURCES AND WATER SAFETY › Subchapter C - INLAND FISHING REGULATIONS › Section .0300 - GAME FISH IN INLAND FISHING WATERS › Section 10C .0314 - STRIPED BASS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) The daily
				  creel limit for striped bass and its hybrids is four fish in the aggregate,
				  except in waters identified in Paragraphs (d) and (g) through (m) of this
				  Rule.
(b) The minimum size limit
				  for these fish is 20 inches, except in waters identified in Paragraphs (d)
				  through (m) of this Rule.
(c) There
				  is no closed season, except for waters identified in Paragraphs (i) through (m)
				  of this Rule.
(d) In the Dan River
				  upstream from its confluence with Bannister River to the dam at Union Street in
				  Danville, VA and in John H. Kerr Reservoir, the daily creel limit on striped
				  bass and its hybrids is two in the aggregate and the minimum size limit is 20
				  inches from October 1 through May 31. From June 1 through September 30, the
				  daily creel limit on striped bass and its hybrids is four in the aggregate with
				  no minimum size limit.
(e) In Lake
				  Gaston and Roanoke Rapids Reservoir, the minimum size limit for striped bass
				  and its hybrids is 20 inches from October 1 through May 31. There is no minimum
				  size limit for these fish from June 1 through September 30.
(f) In Hyco Lake, Moss Lake, Mountain Island
				  Reservoir, Oak Hollow Lake, Lake Thom-A-Lex, Lake Townsend, and Salem Lake the
				  minimum size limit for striped bass and its hybrids is 16 inches.
(g) In Lake Chatuge in Clay County, the daily
				  creel limit is 15 in the aggregate. There is no minimum size limit, but only
				  two may be greater than 22 inches.
(h) In Lake Mattamuskeet, and in the Pee Dee
				  River and its tributaries downstream from the Blewett Falls Dam to the South
				  Carolina state line, the daily creel limit for striped bass and its hybrids is
				  three fish in the aggregate, and the minimum size limit is 18 inches.
(i) In the inland fishing waters of Neuse,
				  Pungo, and Tar Pamlico rivers and their tributaries extending upstream to the
				  first impoundment of the main course on the river or its tributaries, and in
				  the other inland fishing waters east of Interstate 95 not specified in
				  Paragraphs (h) and (j) through (l) of this Rule, the daily creel limit for
				  striped bass and its hybrids is two fish in the aggregate. The minimum size
				  limit is 26 inches. In these waters, the season for taking and possessing
				  striped bass is closed from May 1 through September 30.
(j) In the inland fishing waters of the Cape
				  Fear River and its tributaries downstream of Buckhorn Dam and in the ponds
				  associated with Martin Marietta Park in Craven County, the season for taking
				  and possessing striped bass is closed year-round.
(k) In the inland and joint fishing waters of
				  the Roanoke River Striped Bass Management Area, as established in
				  15A NCAC
				  03R .0201 and identified in
				  15A NCAC
				  10C .0110 which includes the Roanoke, Cashie,
				  Middle, and Eastmost rivers and their tributaries, the open season for taking
				  and possessing striped bass and its hybrids is March 1 through April 30 from
				  the joint-coastal fishing waters boundary at Albemarle Sound upstream to
				  Roanoke Rapids Lake Dam. During the open season, the daily creel limit for
				  striped bass and its hybrids is one fish in the aggregate, and the minimum size
				  limit is 18 inches. No fish over 22 inches in length shall be possessed in the
				  daily creel limit.
(l) In designated
				  inland and joint fishing waters of Roanoke Sound, Croatan Sound, Albemarle
				  Sound, Chowan River, Currituck Sound, Alligator River, Scuppernong River, and
				  their tributaries, excluding the Roanoke River and Cashie River and their
				  tributaries, the striped bass fishing season, size limits, and creel limits are
				  the same as those established by rules or proclamations of the Marine Fisheries
				  Commission in adjacent coastal fishing waters.
(m) In accordance with
				  G.S.
				  113-292, the Executive Director may, by
				  proclamation, suspend or extend the hook-and-line season for striped bass in
				  the inland and joint waters of coastal rivers and their tributaries. It is
				  unlawful to violate the provisions of a proclamation issued pursuant to this
				  authority.