Fishing News

WELDON, N.C. — Eight words: white perch at Williamston; hickory shad at Weldon.

You can stop reading if you’re waiting to hear about all of the rockfish (striped bass) in the Roanoke River at Weldon. They’re not there. Not yet.

Ricky Mobley, owner of the Roanoke Sportsman in Williamston, reported on Wednesday that several anglers had caught a few striped bass on cut bait, but the fishing was like the weather — sporadic and cool.

The best action, according to Mobley, has been from white perch which anglers have been catching well on red wigglers.

But striped bass fishing has not picked up in the Williamston area yet. “On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best, the fishing is about a 2 right now,” Mobley said. “In a couple more weeks, it’ll be a lot better.”

Farther up the Roanoke River at Weldon, striped bass again are conspicuous by their absence. Hickory shad, however, are keeping anglers entertained, according to Bobby Colston, owner of Colston's Tackle Box on Highway 48 south of Gaston.

He reported anglers using spinning gear to catch good numbers of hickory shad on an assortment of shad darts, crappie jigs and spoons. A silver, number 3 Nungesser spoon is working well, as are 1/16-ounce crappie jigs in pink and white. Colston recommended against fishing the jigs in tandem or adding split shot because the low water and relatively slow current allows single lures to get down to the shad without additional weight.

Fly rodders are also reeling in hickory shad on various chartreuse flies and pink-and-white flies, Colston said.

“There are a few stripers being caught,” Colston said. “But these are the smaller, 13- to 16-inch fish that old-timers call ‘forerunners.’ Every once in a while someone will catch an 18-incher, but the fish won’t be here strong for about another two weeks.”

Kevin Dockendorf, a district fisheries biologist for the Wildlife Commission, said the reports from the bait-and-tackle shops matched what he saw in his fish-sampling work on the Roanoke River at Weldon earlier in the week.

Dockendorf’s electrofishing samples turned up mostly hickory shad — of which about half had spawned — as well as 24 striped bass. He predicted the hickory shad to continue spawning this week and heading downriver back towards the Albemarle Sound in early April.

“We’re in a little bit of flux,” Dockendorf said. “Hickory shad are finishing out and stripers are staging to come in.”

Water temperatures near Weldon were around 55 F on Monday. With water levels still low, Dockendorf predicted the upcoming striped bass spawning run in the Roanoke to be similar to the 2002 spawning run when water levels were similarly low. In that year, anglers reported striped bass being more spread out in the general Weldon area.

“With the water temperatures rising and water levels still low, it’s possible that it’ll bust wide open soon,” he said. “People should pull out their fishing diaries from 2002. That’s likely how the fishing will be this year.”

If you plan to pitch artificials for stripers, there’s still time to load up on sure-fire striper lures for the Roanoke River.

Ben Ricks, who is a Roanoke Rapids native, an experienced striper angler on the Roanoke and an Alabama fisheries biologist, answered the oft-asked question: “What do fisheries biologists use for stripers when they climb out of electrofishing boats and into fishing boats?”

For sheer numbers of stripers, Ricks suggested throwing a Zoom Super Fluke on a ¼-ounce jig head, Sassy Shads or bucktails in white or natural shad colors. Chartreuse can be an effective color too.

“Three best baits hands down,” Ricks said.

If you plan to use lures to go after quality, rather than quantity, of stripers, Ricks suggested throwing big swim baits or big flukes — six-inch baits at a minimum, with eight-inch baits performing even better.

Later in the spring when the stripers are about to spawn, good topwater baits to cast include Spooks and Spittin Image Pop-Rs, according to Ricks.

But to increase your chances of catching a big striper on a topwater bait, Ricks suggested tying on a Pencil Popper.

Striped Bass Season and Regulation Information

The entire Roanoke River Management Area is open to striped bass harvest from March 1 through April 30.

The Roanoke River Management Area includes the Roanoke River and tributaries from Roanoke Rapids Lake Dam downstream to Albemarle Sound, including the Cashie, Middle and Eastmost rivers.

The daily creel limit within the Roanoke River Management Area is two striped bass per person. The minimum length limit is 18 inches, and no striped bass between 22 and 27 inches may be possessed at any time. Only one striped bass larger than 27 inches can be included in the daily creel limit.

The Commission also encourages striped bass anglers to use small, non-offset circle hooks, preferably ones with the least amount of distance between the hook point and shank.

Studies show that striped bass caught on small, barbless circle hooks are usually hooked in the jaw, which means they have a much greater chance of survival after being released than fish hooked in the throat or gut.