Hickey Fork

Hickey Fork is one of the “wild waters” of native trout in Madison County and has a fair population of native rainbow trout in the 2 inch to 6 inch fingerling to 10 to 14 inch adult size trout. It is a small tributary of Shelton Laurel Creek and is fish-able for approximately 1.5 miles and is about 10 to 15 feet wide at its confluence with Shelton Laurel Creek. It becomes smaller as you move up stream.

Tip: The head waters have some of the ONLY native brook “trout” (actually a subspecies of the Arctic Char) in our area. These fish came to this geographic area with the last Ice Age glaciers and remained here after the glaciers melted. North Carolina has the largest number of brook trout populations remaining in the southeast U.S.


Directions

Take US highway 25/70 from Marshall to the intersection of NC Highway 208. Continue on Highway 208 and turn right at its intersection with NC Highway 212. Continue south for 6.7 miles to the sign for Hickey Fork.

Note: There are no waste receptacles at this location, please leave the creek as you found it and don’t litter.