BirdTroutOpen the map Is Shuler Creek good for brook trout?
Yes, on the classification rather than on a thermometer. NC DEQ recorded brook trout in Shuler Creek in 2024, at one sampling site on it, and this site reads the water as cold from NCWRC's management tier for it, which is an inference from how the fishery is managed and not a temperature NCWRC publishes — but no USGS gauge on this river reports water temperature, so this site has no measured July mean to hold against the 53–61 °F band this fish wants. Fish of 5–9 inches are what North Carolina reports as typical.
What the state's records say
- Species
- Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis)
- In North Carolina
- native
- Record here
- surveyed present
- Holds in
- 53–61 °F, stops feeding above 68 °F
- Typical
- 5–9 inches
- Spawns
- October and November, on gravel in groundwater-fed shallows, often at the mouths of seeps rather than in the main current.
Southern Appalachian brook trout — the native strain, in the highest and coldest water in the state, generally above 3,000 feet.
Is the water cold enough
No USGS gauge on this river reports water temperature, so there is no measured July mean to put beside the species' band. NCWRC publishes no temperature classification for this water; the Cold band above is inferred from its management tier for the fishery, and it is not a thermometer.
| Gauge | Now | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| CHEOAH RIVER NR BEARPEN GAP NR TAPOCO, NC | 65.8 °F | 76.7 °F |
What you may keep
North Carolina WRC classifies this water as Hatchery Supported Trout Waters, Wild Trout Waters. The management tier on those reaches is stocked holdover, wild. This is a designation of the fishery and not the season and creel rules.
NCWRC public mountain trout waters → North Carolina season and creel rules →
What to fish for it
- Little Black Stonefly — January–April, #16–18
- Little Brown Stonefly — February–April, #12–16
- Blue-Winged Olive — March–May and September–November, #16–22
- Quill Gordon — March–April, #12–14
- Blackfly — April–June, #18–22
- Blue Quill — April–May, #16–18
- Cranefly — April–June and September–October, #6–10
- Grannom — April–May, #14–16
The insects recorded from this river's region, earliest first. The full calendar →
More about Shuler Creek
Shuler Creek — live water temperature, regulations and access