Setzer Fish Hatchery Update

We have been hearing about this for years, and renovations are decades overdue. If you read anything on social media regarding the demolition and reconstruction of the Setzer Fish Hatchery in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina, one might think the world is ending and there will be no Trout left in the state.

Bobby and I have been rattled questions about "What are we going to do"....our answer is always the same. Nothing. This is another variable in this business that is out of our control. This list, is in fact very long! The second part to our answer is that trout existed in this state long before the formation of NCWildlife. We have thousands of miles of trout water that hold wild rainbow, browns and our Crown Jewel Native Southern Appalachian Brook Trout. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park holds over 1,900 miles of trout streams alone!

The other question we get is "will they still stock". This answer is yes and no. NCWildlife will still stock Delayed Harvest waters this fall as scheduled with no reductions in numbers. Once the Hatchery is empty it will close. The spring stockings are scheduled to have reduced numbers but there is anticipation that private hatcheries will help with the balance of stocking numbers to support normal distribution. More details with the state budget are being hammered out in Raleigh as we speak.

So, at the end of the day this is a great invitation to explore new waters in North Carolina. There, you will most likely find some of the most beautiful scenes in the world - in solitude. One of my best days on the water I can recall, is when I bypassed the Tuck Delayed Harvest for a National Park stream to be alone all day with more fish to the net than I could count. Fished one pattern that day, a simple Elk Hair Caddis surrounded by the beauty of Autumn in the Smokies.

Below is a video with Hatchery officials explaining the long term plan.