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It’s going to be an early spring! That’s Kevin Dockendorf’s prediction for hickory shad and striped bass fishing on the Roanoke River. Dockendorf, a fisheries biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, said that compared to the last few years, anglers fishing on the Roanoke may be catching hickory shad and striped bass a little earlier as low water levels and a mild spring are contributing to increases in water temperatures that are favorable for possible earlier spawning migrations. He and fellow biologist Jeremy McCargo were on the river Monday sampling for hickories. From the boat ramp to Troublefield Gut, they collected 51 hickory shad; 47 male hickory shad (bucks) and 4 female hickory shad (roe) during electrofishing sampling. They also saw anglers catching fair numbers of hickories from the boat ramp. As water temperatures continue to increase, so should angler catches. Peak hickory shad fishing near Weldon varies from year to year but is usually from mid-March to early April when water temperatures are between 52 F and 58 F. Bobby Colston, owner of Colston's Tackle Box on Highway 48 south of Gaston, said that although the river’s low, there plenty of fish in the river, and if you want to catch a shad, now’s a good time to come. On Tuesday, he caught 10 using a shad spoon and white and pink curly tailed grubs. In the time he was there, he said he saw about 75 to 80 fish caught. Two Weldon anglers – one fishing a chartreuse spoon, the other a chartreuse grub – were reeling in the hickories pretty regularly as well. Ricky Mobley, owner of the Roanoke Sportsman in Williamston, said anglers up around Hamilton are catching a few rock on shad and menhaden cut bait and in Williamston, bank anglers are catching shad and stripers as well. He said he heard that fishermen were beginning to catch some fish – although not a whole lot just yet – around “Devil’s Gut” using bomber baits about 5 inches long. Dockendorf cautions that water levels are very low and boating anglers should be extremely cautious when navigating when navigating the Roanoke River, especially in Weldon from the boat ramp to (and around) the Big Rock area. “Above Weldon is inaccessible due to low water flows,” Dockendorf said. “We always caution anglers to be careful on the Roanoke, and with water levels being so low, it’s even more important to be careful, particularly if you’re not familiar with the river.” Dockendorf samples the Roanoke River near Weldon on a weekly basis during the spring with assistance from WRC and Division of Marine Fisheries biologists. He, along with Colston, Mobley and other avid anglers willing to share their time and experiences, have agreed again this year to provide weekly fishing reports. The reports will be posted every Thursday morning. We kick off the season with today’s report on early-arriving shad and we’ll continue into May when the last striped bass stragglers depart Weldon and make their way downstream back to the Atlantic Ocean. Striped Bass Season and Regulation Information River Conditions Check current river conditions at Roanoke Rapids Check current river conditions at Williamston
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