Fishing
Cast a line on the Blue Ridge Parkway
The Boone Area is widely known for great fly fishing and angling on lakes and streams. On the Parkway itself, more than 100 miles of pristine streams test your knowledge, skills, and wits while fishing for rainbow, brown, and native brook trout. No special trout stamp is required and only artificial lures with a single hook are allowed. The Parkway encourages catch and release fishing: no barbed hooks. Thirteen lakes along the Parkway, from ponds to sizeable bodies of water, contain bream and smallmouth bass.
At Price Lake, in Julian Price Park near Blowing rock (milepost 295 on the Parkway), anglers and paddlers can rent canoes and kayaks for use on the Parkway's largest lake at the lakeshore concession facility. That site also publishes its rates online.
Nearby Moses Cone Park (milepost 292.7) contains popular fishing spots Trout Lake and Bass Lake (check out the Bass Lake trail guide). There is also fishing at Doughton Park (milepost 239.2).
FISHING REGULATIONS
Fishing in Parkway waters requires a fishing license for the state you are fishing in (under 16, no license needed). Licenses are easily available online, from North Carolina at www.ncwildlife.org/.
More specific regulations are often posted at the angling site, such as along the Linville River near the Linville Falls Visitor Center (turn at Milepost 316.4). Don't fish from bridges, dams, or walls. Swimming is not permitted in Parkway waters.
