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Neuse River Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Neuse: North Carolina's long river of piedmont bass water, tidewater giants and the striper run rebuilding toward its name.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
371 cfs
Air / High
71 / 71 F
Wind
ENE 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02089500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Neuse River lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The river is running 371 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind ENE around 11 mph, steady pressure near 1022 hPa and a high of 71. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassGood

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieFair

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassFair

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 70 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

North Carolina requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents. What a North Carolina licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with NCWRC before you keep anything. The season dates for North Carolina, read off the agency, are on the North Carolina seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Neuse River at Kinston.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02089500.

385588791371 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 96 years of October 23

At 371 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 02089500 (Neuse River at Kinston) is at the 14th percentile for the date: below normal. In half of the 96 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 863 cfs; the highest was 15,000 cfs and the lowest 186 cfs.

p10 321median 863p90 3,698

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 02089500; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp71 F
High / Low71 / 37 F
WindENE 11-15 mph
Pressure1022.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain6% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset07:23 / 18:25
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Neuse River this week

The best day on Neuse River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 5 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM
Minor period
4:06 AM-5:06 AM
Sun
07:23 to 18:25
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 11 mph
Rain chance
1%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Neuse River: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

When to come: the Neuse River calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Neuse River today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 72 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 71 F, wind to 13 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Largemouth bass led the card at good. High of 76 F, wind to 14 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

North Carolina requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

North Carolina license (inland; coastal rules below the Streets Ferry line: check). Striper: protective seasonal rules: verify NCWRC/DMF.

Access

Milburnie (Raleigh), Smithfield, Kinston, New Bern wildlife ramps.

About this water

275 miles from Falls Lake to Pamlico Sound, NC. The Triangle-to-tidewater river.

Fishing Neuse River: the full guide

Three rivers in one name

The Neuse runs 275 miles from the piedmont to Pamlico Sound: Falls Lake's tailwater bass water through Raleigh, the coastal-plain swamp miles past Kinston, and the tidewater reaches where stripers and giant blue cats share the channels. One license, three fisheries, and history (the striper runs that named landings) rebuilding through management.

The piedmont program

Below Falls Dam through Raleigh's greenways, the river fishes intimate: largemouth in the deadfalls, sunfish on every bank, and the urban paddle-fishing culture the Triangle earned. Smithfield-to-Goldsboro floats open the swamp transition: bowfin and bass water with jungle atmosphere.

Tidewater and the runs

From Kinston down (our gauge reach), the river widens tidal: blue cats of genuine size (40-plus annually) in the bends, largemouth on the cypress edges, and the spring runs: stripers (protective rules: check current), shad and herring at the Kinston-to-New Bern riffles' remnants. Fall's mullet-fed mixed bags close the loop.

River practicalities

Wildlife ramps ladder the length (Milburnie, Smithfield, Kinston's landings, New Bern): flows swing with piedmont rain (the gauge tells float feasibility): and the lower river's tannin stains bait-friendly: scent and cut offerings outfish finesse below Kinston. Hurricane seasons rewrite deadfalls: every year fishes new.

Common questions

Are there stripers in the Neuse?

A rebuilding run with protective regulations: check current rules before targeting. The blue cats and largemouth carry the river meanwhile: 40-pound cats are the honest headline.

Where should I fish the Neuse first?

Raleigh's greenway reaches for paddle-bass intimacy, or the Kinston tidewater for cats-and-cypress scale. The river changes personality every 50 miles: pick your chapter.

Is fishing good at Neuse River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Tar River44 miMorehead City62 miFalls Lake64 miWilmington74 miCape Fear River74 miRoanoke River80 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02089500 β€” Neuse River at Kinston
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:15 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.2600, -77.5850 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written guide was drafted with AI assistance. Unlike our newer pages, it does not yet list the official pages its facts were checked against: that audit is under way, and anything it cannot verify will be taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.