March’s Meeting featured Kim Hodges and Jacob Rash from NC Wildlife updating us on some new developments on trout fishing in NC.  A slide show of their entire program can be viewed by clicking the highlighted section at the bottom of this page while a summary of key points is included below.

It was mentioned that the Delayed Harvest section of the Ararat River will be opened this October and consist of 2 miles of river in Mt Airy that will have access from a trail that will run along the river but will only have vehicle access at three points: Riverside, Roe, and Tharrington School parks so some walking will be required.  A map is included in the presentation.  It was also mentioned that there are 4 additional DH fisheries that will be added this fall.

It was also mentioned that trout fishing in NC is worth roughly $174 million per year in economic development and that 93,000 trout anglers spent $146 million on trips and equipment which is worth mentioning when we communicate with our elected representatives about supporting conservation related legislation.