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Roanoke River Fishing Report

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

The Roanoke below Roanoke Rapids Dam: striped bass country where harvest is closed until at least March 1, 2027.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
68 / 68 F
Wind
NNE 9 mph

Sources: 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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Roanoke River offers the kind of conditions this water was made for. Today brings cloud cover, wind NNE around 9 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 68. 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

Striped bassExcellent

Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

Tomorrow: Similar at 67 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 striped 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.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp68 F
High / Low68 / 37 F
WindNNE 9-13 mph
Pressure1023.4 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain81% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:24 / 18:23
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 Roanoke River this week

The best day on Roanoke River this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 5 out of 5, against 4 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€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:45 AM-11:45 AM and 10:13 PM-12:13 AM
Minor period
4:06 AM-5:06 AM
Sun
07:24 to 18:23
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall inland; on the coast, during the seasonal migrations

The largest of the temperate basses, a sea-run fish of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts that now also lives in reservoirs across much of the country after hatchery stocking. Inland, it follows schools of shad and herring through open water. Use electronics to find shad schools in open water, and watch for birds working over bait.

When to come: the Roanoke 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
Striped 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 Roanoke 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. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 70 F, wind to 10 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 68 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 10 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

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

Striped bass harvest by hook and line closed in the Roanoke River Management Area until March 1, 2027 (NCWRC proclamation of March 6, 2026); all stripers released. Apr 1–Jun 30 above the U.S. 258 bridge: single barbless circle hook with bait, single barbless hook otherwise.

Access

The management area covers the river from Roanoke Rapids Dam to Albemarle Sound; NCWRC's proclamation does not list launch sites.

About this water

The lower Roanoke River from Roanoke Rapids Dam to Albemarle Sound, northeastern North Carolina; the point on this page is at Weldon, Halifax County.

Fishing Roanoke River: the full guide

Harvest closed

On March 6, 2026 NCWRC suspended the hook-and-line striped bass harvest season in the Roanoke River Management Area, which runs from Roanoke Rapids Dam downstream to the river's mouth at Albemarle Sound and includes the Cashie, Middle and Eastmost rivers. Its proclamation keeps harvest closed until 12:00 a.m. on March 1, 2027, and NCWRC will assess the next season before then.

Why NCWRC closed it

NCWRC says the stock has shown little improvement despite four years of reduced harvest, that its 2025 spawning-grounds survey found abundance still declining, and that spawning success has been poor for eight years even in good river conditions. It is working with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries on the Roanoke–Albemarle stock.

Catch-and-release rules

Every striped bass caught in the inland and joint waters of the management area must go back at once, whatever its condition. From April 1 to June 30, upstream of the U.S. 258 bridge, live or natural bait may only be fished on a single barbless circle hook, and other tackle on a single barbless hook. NCWRC advises planning release trips for water under 70Β°F and landing fish quickly.

Common questions

Can I keep a striped bass on the Roanoke in 2026?

No. NCWRC closed the hook-and-line harvest season in the management area from March 9, 2026 until March 1, 2027; every striper must be released.

Is catch-and-release fishing allowed?

Yes, with immediate release. From April 1 to June 30 above the U.S. 258 bridge you must use a single barbless circle hook with bait and a single barbless hook with other tackle.

Why is the season closed?

NCWRC reports a continued decline in abundance in its 2025 spawning-grounds survey and eight years of poor spawning success.

Is fishing good at Roanoke River right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Lake Gaston16 miTar River36 miKerr Lake (Buggs Island)41 miFalls Lake57 miChickahominy Lake75 miJames River79 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.4200, -77.6000 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.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 6, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
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 text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 6, 2026; anything that could not be verified was 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.