A Coastal Recreational Fishing License is required to fish on the Outer Banks. Children under 16 are exempt. An individual does not need a license for charter boat and pier fishing, which are covered by a blanket license.

ages 16 or older

Registered. Bream, Crappie, and other Sunfish are listed as Inland Gamefish therefore they can only be collected by Hook and Line and length and creel limits apply even if they are to be used as bait. Also, they can only be used as bait when hook and line fishing, can not be used with set hooks or trot lines.

NC wildlife resources commission and it IS legal to use goldfish as bait, but they ask that you don’t dump/release any unused or leftover bait in water that they aren’t native to. One thing that baitfish fisherman should also consider is the risk of spreading diseases to wild fish via domesticated bait.

Currently, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission prohibits night-time fishing for trout on all game lands from an hour after sunset to an hour before sunrise. “It confuses anglers that are fishing waters off game lands,” he said.

You’ll even catch some of the “stockers” (those freshly stocked, new-to-the-wild fish) on corn at certain spots. About half of North Carolina’s designated public trout waters are set aside for wild, self-sustaining trout populations; the other half are stocked with nearly 1 million fish each year.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries released a proclamation last week increasing regulations for shark fishing. Recreational fishermen, for example, can take one large coastal shark per person per day unless it is on the prohibited list.

Fishermen in North Carolina are limited to a single red drum per day in a slot that begins at 18 and ends at 27 inches. South Carolina fishermen may keep up to three red drum per day in a slot that runs from 15 to 23 inches. All other red drum must be released immediately.

between 18 and 27 inches