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 e aggregate,
				  except in waters identified in Paragraphs (d) and (g) through (l) of this
				  Rule.
(b) The minimum size limit
				  for these fish is 20 inches, except in waters identified in Paragraphs (d)
				  through (l) of this Rule.
(c) There
				  is no closed season, except for waters identified in Paragraphs (i) through (l)
				  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 aggregate and the minimum size limit is 20
				  inches. No fish greater than 26 inches may be possessed from October 1 through
				  May 31. From June 1 through September 30, the daily creel limit for striped
				  bass and its hybrids is four in 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 Farmer Lake, Hyco Lake, Moss Lake, Oak
				  Hollow Lake, 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, and 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 aggregate, and the minimum
				  size limit is 18 inches.
(i) In the
				  inland fishing waters of the Tar, Pungo, Neuse, and Cape Fear rivers and their
				  tributaries extending upstream to the first impoundment of the main course on
				  the river or its tributaries, in other inland fishing waters east of Interstate
				  95 not specified in Paragraphs (h), (j), and (k) of this Rule, and in the ponds
				  associated with Martin Marietta Park in Craven County, the season for taking
				  and possessing striped bass is closed year-round.
(j) 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 aggregate, and the minimum size
				  limit is 18 inches. No fish over 22 inches in length shall be
				  possessed.
(k) 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.
(l) 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.