BirdTrout
Davidson Catch-and-Release Water — Davidson River, North Carolina
Also called the Davidson, the C&R, Davidson catch-and-release.
86 NHD reaches, 8.9 miles of drawn channel — side channels and braids included, so more than the distance downriver.
Open in BirdTroutThe line is the water this name refers to, drawn from the NHD reaches it resolves to; the dots are the nearest gauges reporting water temperature, coloured by what they read now.
What it is
About fourteen miles of Davidson River from the headwaters down to Avery Creek, in Pisgah National Forest — long smooth runs and glassy pools below the Pisgah fish hatchery, and trout that have refused more flies than most rivers ever see.
Catch and release, artificial flies with one single hook only, open all year, no trout may be harvested or possessed. Below Avery Creek the river is hatchery supported and the rules change.
Where it is
The line on the map is the stretch the NC Wildlife Resources Commission designates, drawn from the Commission's own Public Mountain Trout Waters geometry rather than from a boundary this site inferred.
| Access | Type | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Pisgah Center For Wildlife Education | walk in | 0.1 mi |
| Coontree | walk in | 1.6 mi |
Distance from the centre of the mapped reach, not along the road.
Regulations on this stretch
Catch and release, artificial flies with one single hook only, open all year, no trout may be harvested or possessed. Below Avery Creek the river is hatchery supported and the rules change.
Rules change every year and the posted signs are the authority, not this page. Check the current North Carolina regulations before you fish. Where this stretch sits inside a larger river, that river's general regulations apply everywhere this stretch's do not.
Best times
Fishes all year. Tiny midges and blue-winged olives in winter, caddis and sulphurs in spring, terrestrials in summer.
Live water temperature
No USGS temperature gauge we read reports within 25 miles of this stretch, so this page has no live number for it. That is a gap in the gauge network, not a judgement about the water.
Fly shops nearby
- Davidson River Outfitters — 5.1 mi
- Highland Hiker — 21.2 mi
- Brookings Anglers — 21.2 mi
- Maggie Valley Fly Shop — 22.6 mi
- Tuckaseegee Fly Shop — 25.1 mi
- Hunter Banks Fly Fishing — 25.1 mi
Straight-line distance from the centre of the mapped reach.
Sources for the name
BirdTrout did not name this water. 3 independent sources below use the name, and it ships only because more than one of them does.
- wildlife agency NC Wildlife Resources Commission
- tu chapter Land O' Sky Trout Unlimited
- flyshop WNC Fly Fishing