Our winter striper fishing is still going strong. It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve experienced super high number catches. We are still consistently catching 20-50 fish per trip. The flows in the Roanoke have been very low, which has made the fishing a little more stagnant. Our winter fishing is like riding on a roller coaster, with super high peaks and some valleys along the way. The peaks and valleys generally correspond closely with river conditions. Recently, fishing on the lower end now is more like fishing in a lake. There has been no current coming from upriver. However, just in last couple of days, discharges have jumped to 8000 cfs, which about twice what they have been. Also, this low pressure system we are experiencing today as I write this on Sunday, Feb. 27 is dumping additional rain in the upper Tar and above the lakes to hopefully increase discharges on the Roanoke a little more. This is just what we needed….. a little bump in flow to fire up our striper bite and get all those shad up here for good. We need water but not too much. I think we are just where we need to be going into March, so I’m excited for a fun late winter/early spring season on the pre-spawn stripers and shad. If you’ve never fished for shad, now is your opportunity, as shad season is about a 5-6 week season starting now going into early April.
My schedule is full until mid-May, where I’ll be booking for post-spawn stripers on the Roanoke and specs/reds on the Pamlico. Here are my upcoming open dates:
May 17-19, 26, 31 June 2-3, 16, 27-28 July 5-8, 18, 21, 25-27 Aug. 3, 8-9, 11-12, 15, 17, 22
It’s not too early to book your summer dates. Please plan your fishing trip at least 3 months in advance to get a date. If you are not an early planner, then Capt. Hurley Raynor is available to take you out on much more short notice, as he has more openings. Capt. Hurley has proven to be a very important addition to our guide service. He’s been doing a great job and providing our guests with some memorable experiences on the water. Here are his openings over the next few weeks:
Mar. 1-9, 12-13, 15-17, 20-24, 27, 29-31
