Fishing Report for April 16, 2009
Striped bass fishing on the Roanoke River has really picked up this week. Reports from all over are saying that anglers are catching good numbers and good sizes of fish from the boat ramp to the powerlines.
Creel clerks at the Weldon boat ramp interviewed many anglers who caught their limit of fish within the 18 to 22-inch size range.
Fisheries biologists Chad Thomas, Kevin Dockendorf and Jeremy McCargo sampled the river on Monday, collecting 325 striped bass, a pretty decent number for early April when water temperatures are still a little chilly.
According to Dockendorf, striped bass typically show up in big numbers when water temperatures reach around 62 degrees Fahrenheit, and their abundance usually peaks when water temperatures are between 66 and 69 degrees. With this week’s water temperatures between 55 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit, anglers should be looking at several more weeks of good striped bass fishing.
Bobby Colston of Colston’s Tackle Box on Hwy. 48 south of Gaston said that anglers at the boat ramp were catching a lot of rockfish on live minnows and cut shad. For those fishing with artificial lures, flukes, either white or white with a chartreuse tail, were working well.
“There’s lots of fish in the river right now and lots of people having a good time,” Colston said. “It’s a good time to come.”
Down river, Ricky Mobley from the Roanoke Sportsman in Williamston, said striper fishing has been really good with just about everybody he’s talked to catching their limit. Most fish are being caught on Carolina rigs with cut bait or large minnows.
