1,736 public fishing lakes and rivers in North Carolina — Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Spotted Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Bowfin and Longnose Gar.
See every public fishing venue in North Carolina on the map, with boat ramps, camping, parking and full rules for each one.
PiscaMaps covers 1,736 public fishing venues across North Carolina in 3 regions — 591 lakes and reservoirs and 1,118 rivers. The largest is John H. Kerr Reservoir, at 44,895 acres. Neuse River is the longest mapped river, running 424 km. Foothills & Piedmont has the most venues on file, with 822. 348 venues are documented trout waters.
The most commonly recorded species across North Carolina's public waters are Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Spotted Bass, Redbreast Sunfish, Bowfin and Longnose Gar — the exact mix varies by water type and region. 280 venues have a real boat ramp on file, 220 have nearby camping, and 631 have mapped parking — sourced from OpenStreetMap and recreation.gov's federal facilities database (RIDB) where available.
North Carolina's public fishing venues are spread across 3 regions on PiscaMaps:
The most frequently recorded species across North Carolina's public venues on PiscaMaps:
Anyone 16+ needs a North Carolina Inland Fishing licence — resident annual is about $27, non-resident annual about $45, and non-resident 10-day (~$23) licences are sold. A Mountain Trout privilege (~$16) is required in addition to fish any Public Mountain Trout Water; the Mountain Heritage Trout Waters in the mountain towns need only a $8 3-day licence. North Carolina residents 70+ get a free lifetime licence. Buy from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. A North Carolina Inland Fishing licence covers navigable rivers. Where an inland river meets Coastal or Joint waters (marked by NCWRC/DMF signs) a Coastal Recreational Fishing Licence is required instead. A Mountain Trout privilege is required on Public Mountain Trout Waters.
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