States·NC

North Carolina fishing

News-desk briefs whose primary water is North Carolina.

Laws & Licensing NCNews deskSeptember 29, 2026
N.C. opens large-mesh gill nets in southern units at 5:54 p.m. Sept. 29
Proclamation M-20-2026 opens Management Units B (subunits), C, D1 (Northern), D2, and E to 4-inch through 6½-inch stretch gill nets effective 5:54 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, under Southern Flounder Amendment 4 and the federal ITP.
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US Fishing NCNews deskSeptember 28, 2026
Concord’s Jason Barnes wins the Lake Gaston BFL finale with 37-13
Jason Barnes of Concord, North Carolina, won the Phoenix BFL North Carolina Division finale on Lake Gaston with 10 bass for 37 pounds, 13 ounces and $10,880. Co-angler Landon Dorman weighed 16-15.
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US Fishing NCNews deskSeptember 24, 2026
North Carolina delays fall Delayed Harvest trout stockings into November
Heat and drought wiped out roughly 70% of Armstrong Hatchery trout since June, so NCWRC’s usual October Delayed Harvest plants slip toward November.
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Laws & Licensing NCNews deskSeptember 22, 2026
New Jersey transfers 250,000 pounds of 2026 bluefish quota to North Carolina
A Sept. 11 Federal Register temporary rule moves 250,000 pounds of 2026 commercial Atlantic bluefish quota from New Jersey to North Carolina, effective Sept. 10 through Dec. 31.
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US Fishing NCNews deskSeptember 16, 2026
Pamlico/Neuse September: old reds from the ferry line into the sound
Fisherman’s Post’s Pamlico/Neuse September 2026 guide roundup: citation-class red drum from the ferry line into the sound on soft plastics, topwater, and cut bait; slot reds and a few specks in the river shallows; stripers still consistent up past New Bern.
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US Fishing NCNews deskSeptember 11, 2026
North Carolina recreational flounder window is Sept. 1–14 only
NC DMF set the 2026 recreational flounder season at Sept. 1–14 in coastal, joint, and inland waters — one fish, 15 inches, hook-and-line or gig, with mandatory harvest reporting.
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