New Public Fishing Access Area Open on Uwharrie River in North Carolina

   08.01.12

New Public Fishing Access Area Open on Uwharrie River in North Carolina

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently partnered with The LandTrust for Central North Carolina to provide anglers fishing the Uwharrie River with a new public fishing access area.

The Low Water Bridge Fishing Access Area, which is located on Low Water Bridge Road in Montgomery County north of Troy, opened in May. The access area has two ramps — one upstream of the bridge and another downstream — and a parking lot with space for nine vehicles and one designated handicapped parking space.

GPS coordinates for the access area, which can accommodate small boats, canoes and kayaks, are: Latitude: 35.488435°, Longitude -80.005840°. While boats are not restricted to length, they must be able to be launched and retrieved without the use of a trailer. The ramps are configured so that only watercraft that can be carried to and from the water can be launched and retrieved.

Anglers launching their boats at the access area can expect to catch smallmouth bass, redbreast sunfish and other sunfish species, according to Lawrence Dorsey, a fisheries biologist with the Commission.

“This site is the first public fishing access site in the 10-county area that comprises the Commission’s district 6 that is specifically designed for small boats, and we are happy to have a dedicated access for anglers and other users along the Uwharrie River,” Dorsey said. “We’d like to thank The LandTrust for Central North Carolina for partnering with us on this area. Without its collaboration this access area would not have been possible.”

The Wildlife Commission constructed the fishing access area on land owned by The LandTrust, and the area was developed through a Memorandum of Agreement between the Commission and The LandTrust. The project was funded through the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program utilizing state fishing license money and funds generated from taxes on fishing tackle and other fishing-related expenditures.

The LandTrust, a nonprofit land conservation organization based in Salisbury, purchased the “Low Water Bridge” property from the Bingham family in 2006.

“This has been a great public-private partnership for us,” said Jason Walser, executive director of The LandTrust. “Using private and public funds, we have not only helped conserve a gorgeous property, but also provided better access to a gorgeous river and enhanced tourism opportunities in Montgomery County.

“This has been a win-win project for the region.”

For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, including an interactive map of more than 500 public fishing access areas throughout the state, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing. For a list of all boating access areas open to the public in North Carolina, visit www.ncwildlife.org/boating.

For more information about The LandTrust for Central North Carolina, contact Walser at jason@landtrustcnc.org or visit www.landtrustcnc.org.

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