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Tar River Fishing Report

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

The Tar River at Tarboro: a coastal plain river where state biologists sample striped bass and both shad species every spring.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Flow
74 cfs
Air / High
70 / 70 F
Wind
NE 10 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 02083500, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
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.

Tar River sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. The river is running 74 cfs. Today brings clear skies, wind NE around 10 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 70. 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 69 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 from Tar River at Tarboro.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 02083500.

17436655974 cfs09/2310/0210/1210/23

Today’s flow against 100 years of October 23

At 74 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 02083500 (Tar River at Tarboro) is below the 5th percentile for the date: much below normal. In half of the 100 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 416 cfs; the highest was 18,900 cfs and the lowest 28 cfs.

p10 134median 416p90 2,575

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 02083500; 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 temp70 F
High / Low70 / 36 F
WindNE 10-14 mph
Pressure1022.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain3% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:24 / 18:24
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 Tar River this week

The best day on Tar 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
07:24 to 18:24
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 13 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

The species that matter on Tar 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 Tar 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 Tar 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 12 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 69 F, wind to 13 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 74 F, wind to 12 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

North Carolina fishing license. Striped bass: the 2026 Tar-Pamlico harvest season ran April 1-30 only (1 fish, 18-inch minimum, no fish 22-27 inches, harvest must be reported); at all other times striped bass must be released. Shad creel limits are set by NCWRC and the Division of Marine Fisheries: read the current proclamation before keeping shad.

Access

NCWRC boating access area at Bell's Bridge north of Tarboro; Battle Park in Rocky Mount. NCWRC lists its 250 free boating access areas in an online locator.

About this water

The Tar River at Tarboro, Edgecombe County, North Carolina, on the coastal plain.

Fishing Tar River: the full guide

A coastal river with spring runs

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) names the Tar among the four major coastal rivers where it runs springtime electrofishing for striped bass, American shad and hickory shad. Both shad species ascend the Tar each spring to spawn, and the Commission says the Tar supports an excellent American shad recreational fishery.

Where NCWRC points shad anglers

The Commission suggests two areas: Battle Park in Rocky Mount, and the Bell's Bridge area north of Tarboro, where its boating access area lets boat anglers run upstream to Swift Creek or downstream to Fishing Creek. Bank access at Bell's Bridge is limited. NCWRC notes that shad strike darts and small spoons even though they generally do not feed during the spawning run.

Striped bass are mostly catch-and-release

In 2026 the Tar-Pamlico was open to striped bass harvest only from April 1 to April 30, upstream of a line between Gum Point and Fork Point in Beaufort County: one fish a day, 18-inch minimum, no fish between 22 and 27 inches, and mandatory harvest reporting. Outside an open season, NCWRC requires every striped bass to be released immediately.

The Tarboro gauge

Flow and stage on this page come from USGS gauge 02083500, Tar River at Tarboro, which sits beside the page location in Edgecombe County.

Common questions

When do shad run in the Tar?

In spring. NCWRC says American and hickory shad ascend the Tar each spring to spawn, and it posts its coastal-river sampling results from March through May.

Can I keep a striped bass?

Only in an open season. In 2026 the Tar-Pamlico opened April 1-30 in a defined area with a one-fish limit and a 22-27-inch no-harvest slot; outside it, release every striped bass at once.

Where can I launch for shad?

NCWRC points to its Bell's Bridge boating access area north of Tarboro, with Swift Creek upstream and Fishing Creek downstream.

Is fishing good at Tar 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

Roanoke River36 miNeuse River44 miLake Gaston46 miFalls Lake48 miKerr Lake (Buggs Island)64 miJordan Lake85 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 02083500 β€” Tar River at Tarboro
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 35.9000, -77.5300 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 8, 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 8, 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.