Tar Heel Lake in Transylvania County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Tar Heel Lake in Transylvania County, North Carolina. Open valley runs right down to the water. This is a pocket water of some 2 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. Our Transylvania County list holds plenty of bigger water. 7.5 miles away sits Brevard, the nearest town. Slater-Marietta is 13 miles and Etowah 14 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Tar Heel Lake

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Records held for Transylvania County cover rainbow trout, brook trout and brown trout. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. On Tar Heel Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 36°F in January to roughly 71°F in July. In milder years the surface never sets. Cover comes and goes, so treat it with suspicion rather than trust. Late winter often fishes better here than midsummer does. That shapes the year on Tar Heel Lake. Fish feed harder before a change in weather than after it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. The water borders Crown Of The Mountain Bridge Nature Preserve, so expect the reserve rules to apply. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Betty-Kay Lake at 0.1 miles is the sensible second choice. What applies at Tar Heel Lake may have changed since it was mapped.