A Great Catch

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Image Credits Below

Issue:

06/2024

A 1936 trout farming pond in North Mills River.

North Carolina is one of the most popular destinations for trout fishing because of the fresh mountain streams.

The Qualla Boundary has nearly 30 miles of rivers and three fishing ponds for trout farming.

After the fish are raised at the hatchery, they are transferred to one of these natural bodies of water.

The fish are vaccinated in order to prevent outbreaks of disease on the farm.

Sunburst Trout Farm occupies more than 100 acres of land near Lake Logan, just outside of Waynesville.

Originally founded in 1948 as Cashiers Valley Trout Farm, Sunburst not only raises and harvests the fish, but also hand-guts, trims, and debones the trout before dispersing it at Sunburst Market and other vendors

Wes and Ben Eason (top-left) inherited Sunburst Trout Farms from their grandfather, Dick Jennings.

Sunburst also makes their own caviar.

Trout can be used in a variety of dishes, including a whole stuffed trout with apple.

RESOURCES:

Photographs by Jonathan Ammons; courtesy of David Rowland; Raven Eye Photography, courtesy of ECBI; courtesy of USFS/University of North Carolina Asheville; & courtesy of Sunburst Farms

ISSUE DATE:

Summer 2024

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A Great Catch

A Great Catch

A Great Catch