RAEFORD, N.C. (Dec. 4, 2009) – The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is currently draining Upchurch Lake to repair a broken standpipe in the dam. Upchurch Lake, a public fishing area managed by the Commission, is located on the Nicholson Creek Game Land in Hoke County.
Repairs to the dam, which are pending approval by Engineering Services and Dam Safety, should be completed by mid-spring. Once the repairs are completed, the 37-acre impoundment should reach full pool in about 2 months, after which the Commission will restock the lake.
“We plan to stock channel catfish in late spring or early summer of 2010, bluegill in the fall of 2010 and bass in the spring of 2011,” said Keith Hendrickson, a fisheries technician with the Commission.
Although Upchurch Lake is closed, anglers can still fish two other ponds on the game land. According to Hendrickson, both ponds, located to the right of the main access road before Upchurch Lake, have good largemouth bass and bluegill populations. Additionally, Lake Rim, another Wildlife Commission public fishing area, is located about 15 minutes down Hwy. 401, across the street from the John E. Pechmann Fishing Education Center in Fayetteville.
For more information on fishing in public, inland waters, visit www.ncwildlife.org/fishing.
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