Rocking on the Roanoke this upcoming May.

I'm excited about returning to the Roanoke River again this May for the Striped Bass run.  As of right now, I've cleared out May 1-11 of 2024 for Roanoke "Rockfish", but I could possibly extend that depending on bookings.  The fish will hopefully be there before I arrive, and still there after I leave, but my plan is to hit the peak of the spawn when the stretch of River we fish around Weldon has the highest concentration of fish.

Striped Bass are found throughout many parts of the state.  Juvenile fish can be found in coastal rivers, large adults are found offshore, and many lakes contain landlocked fish.  Just like the earlier runs of Hickory Shad, Weldon is also probably the best place in the state to catch Striped Bass, or "Rockfish", as they’re locally known.  

​Being anadromous, Striped Bass make a Spring journey up the Roanoke River towards their spawning grounds near Weldon.  Stripers start to show up in April and usually hang around until mid May.  On a really good day, it’s possible to boat close to one hundred fish when the bite is on.  

​Historically, April has been the keeper season, and the Weldon area can be very crowded.  It has recently been announced by the NCWRC that there will be no keeper season on the Roanoke this year.  Keeper season or not, our favorite time to fish for them, is the first two weeks of May, when the fish numbers are at their peak, and they are the most active.  The majority of stripers are schoolie sized fish from 16-24″, but there are big cow females between 30-50lbs in the same stretch of river, so you never know what you could hook into.  Last year, every few days we would land a really nice 10lb fish among the schoolies.  

I absolutely love fishing this river every year.  It's an experience to be had!  I worry sometimes that the experience is lessened by anglers having too high of an expectation.  Several anglers, guides, magazines, and social media posts have sold the Roanoke as the place where you catch 100 fish per trip.  Does it happen?  Sure...some days.  That being said, I tell my anglers to always be realistic.  There are lots of factors that can play into the bite.  Water temps too high or too low?  Water flow too low and the fish are down river?  Flow too high and the fish are up in the bushes?  Are the fish pre-spawn, post spawn, or are they right in the middle of their spawn and thinking about love?  I've seen the most senior of guides on the river struggle to catch a dozen fish some days.  I've also seen a local catch a hundred fish while standing on the bank using a $20 rod and reel combo.  Every day is different.

Generally, when I tell my anglers about the fishery, I say that a slow day on the Roanoke in May is comparable to a good day on most any other river, and a really good day on the Roanoke could ruin you from wanting to fish anywhere else.

The truth is this river is so much more than numbers.  It's one of the best fishing experiences to be had in the state of North Carolina.  Where else can you see Bald Eagles above you, Turkeys along the banks, River Otters splashing at your feet?  All while watching dozens of angry male Rockfish fight each other on the surface, trying to spawn with one big female as she releases several hundred-thousand eggs?  Seeing all that, and also having the potential to catch more fish on fly or spin than you ever have in a single day?  How awesome is that?  I love this river and the experiences she provides on a daily basis during the Striped Bass migration.

While up on the Roanoke, we'll be fishing out of my 18ft East Cape Fury.  There's plenty of room for 1 or 2 anglers to cast fly or spin, while I control our drift and watch the fish finder for schools of fish.  My boat will be loaded with plenty of fly rods with the proper lines, and leaders.  We'll also have a stack of spinning rods ready for action.  I'll be ready for whatever the Roanoke and the Stripers throw at us, with boxes full of hundreds of flies, jigs and top waters.  The bite can often peak right at sunrise and sunset, so we set up our trip times around that.  We'll run morning half days from 6am-11am and evening trips from 3pm-8pm.  If you want to get the full experience, we can do a long full day where we basically fish a 5hr morning trip, take a few hours mid-day break for lunch and a nap, and then hit the water again in the afternoon and fish till dark.  

Fly fishing is probably my favorite way to fish for these fish each May.  6wt to 8wt rods lined up with floating lines and 250-350gr sinking lines do the work needed to bring these fish to hand.  The floating line setups are rigged up with poppers for the occasions when we get an early morning or evening topwater bite.  The sinking line rigs get the most usage, pulling flies down 10-20ft to where the schools of fish hang in the water column.  You can get fancy with your flies, but most days a simple Clouser or Deceiver is all you need.  Chartreuse and white flies take up half the real estate in my fly boxes, but I tie up a variety of colors for that occasional day when the fish decide to be picky about colors.

Most of our spinning rods are rigged up with brightly colored soft plastics on jig heads so that we can fish deep into the water column.  The topwater bite on spin can be excellent too.  Top Dogs, Zara Spooks, Skitterwalks, Wakebaits, Poppers ...if its loud and obvious, they'll try to kill it.  Some of our highest numbers of fish, and biggest fish, come on topwater right before dark.

If they are not eating on top, then we will locate them on the sonar and dredge a sinking fly line for them.  Sometimes the schools of fish are in the mood to eat, and sometimes they are too focused on "love" to be bothered with chasing a fly.  These fish are like lottery tickets.  Not every single one is a winner, so the more lottery tickets you can scratch, the higher your chances are.

​This right here is what you hope for.  A solid wedge of Striped Bass stacked nose to tail and fin to fin from mid water column down the bottom.  Often these schools can be several hundred yards long and stretch from one side of the river to the other.

This is the only place I know where someone could possibly go catch 20 fish on fly and go home disappointed.  If you come with your mind set that you will catch fish every cast, you could be really let down, and miss out on all the other great things happening around you.  If you come looking for a great overall experience, then you'll never be let down.  The Roanoke Rocks!

While fishing for Stripers on the Roanoke, we often catch other species too.  From Longnose Gar to Largemouth Bass, to Redhorse Suckers, to Common Carp...

Speaking of Carp, there is an opportunity to do more than just luck into one blindly in May.  I have an area only 15 minutes from our Striper spot, where we can pole flats and lake edges sightcasting to Common Carp.  I'm still working on developing this fishery, but it's already at a point where sightfishing them is very doable.  If you'd like to split your time between drifting for Stripers and poling for Carp, I would love to talk to you about doing both!  Let's chat about it!

Hooking into a healthy Striper will put a smile on anyone's face.

That's what we're looking for!

Putting on a show!

Striper spawning action.

Come on fish...get a hotel room!

I love witnessing the Sun rise and the Sun set on the mighty Roanoke.  And there's plenty of fishing to keep you busy between the two.

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I'll be on the Roanoke March 21-26 guiding for Hickory Shad, and May 1-11 guiding for Striped Bass.  I'd love to show you why I love this place so much.  Shoot me a message or give me a call if you'd like to go this year.