On January 1, 2007, a new law went into effect that requires all county residents to have a state fishing license to fish inland waters, which now includes fishermen that use live bait. The “Natural Bait Exemption Law” which in the past have allowed people to fish in public waters in their county or residence without a fishing license, if they were fishing with live bait, has been repealed.

$35 plus court costs is the fine for fishing without a license. Although, a fishing license is still not required it fish in private ponds or for children under 16 years old.

The only other exceptions are individuals who obtain a free subsistence waiver because they receive food stamps, Medicaid or Work Family Assistance. These individuals can receive the waiver by contacting the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission at (919) 707-0220 or by visiting www.ncwildlife.org.

You can read the entire news article and discuss this news story on our forums at this link: Fishermen must possess license to use live bait

Every dream about catching a state record catfish? Nows your chance to get a channel catfish state record in North Carolina.

The recent Channel Catfish record for North Carolina, caught by Pete Paine, was recently decertified by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Seems that when the fish was examined closely, the catfish was declared to be a flathead catfish.

This means that anyone can claim a new state record Channel Catfish that is over 10 pounds. As long as the fish is submitted according to the North Carolina Wildlife rules, you could be declared the new North Carolina state Channel Catfish record holder.

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