Striped Bass - April through May

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 hickory shad, Weldon is also probably the best place in the state to catch Striped Bass, or rockfish, as they’re locally known.  Being anadramous, 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.  April is the keeper season, and the Weldon area can be very crowded.  Our favorite time to fish for them, is the first two weeks of May, when the crowds have gone home but the fish are still there.  The majority of stripers are schoolie sized fish from 16-24″, but several large females up to 40lbs are caught each year.  The stripers are great fun on a medium action spinning rod, or a 7 or 8wt fly rod with a sinking line.  Early mornings and late evenings can produce a great top water bite.  We can also fish live bait if you want to experience some insane action.