Johns River — Arneys Store

These links were checked against the live agency site on 2026-09-01. Rules for a water change inside a season, so the agency’s own page on the day you go is the only current answer — this desk does not hold one.

No unique fleet-directory record matched this operational water by name and state, so the desk will not borrow another water’s review date. The agency links on this page were checked on 2026-09-01; check the agency’s own page the day you go.

Freestone reaches on this list are generally reached from a road that runs the valley — bridge crossings, pullouts and public-land frontage. Between those, ownership changes without a sign.

Launch · Hand-launch for a raft or small drift boat at bridges and pullouts where it is legal. Confirm the take-out before you push off; a freestone take-out can be a long way down.

Parking · Parking is at designated access points. A pullout that looks fine is not automatically legal or safe to leave a vehicle in.

North Carolina publishes boating access areas and designated trout waters as separate interactive maps — the trout-water designation matters as much as the access point.

Flow and water temperature for this water are read from USGS site 02140991, Johns River at Arneys Store, NC. It is an official public gauge, not a fishing pin: it describes the river at one point, and the reach you stand in may be doing something else.

Derived from water class (freestone) and South range — not a stocking record. Confirm species, seasons and any closures with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

• Rainbow trout

  52–64°F published preference · handling becomes a conservation problem at 68°F

• Brown trout

  54–67°F published preference · handling becomes a conservation problem at 68°F

• Brook trout

  46–61°F published preference · handling becomes a conservation problem at 65°F