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Home › Waters › North Carolina › Roanoke River
River · Roanoke Valley · North Carolina

Roanoke River Fishing Guides

North Carolina's spring striped bass river, gauged at Roanoke Rapids where the Albemarle Sound run stacks up below the dam each April and May.

A quiet river reach walled by hardwood forest in the Appalachians

Map of the Roanoke River

11 numbered points: 10 access points, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 25, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (10)
  • USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

Open the printable map
All 11 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Gaston Access
KapStone Kraft Paper - 1 launch lane		Access / boat ramp36.48264, -77.64431Privately owned ramp at Gaston, the top of the tailwater below Roanoke Rapids Dam.
2Roanoke River at Roanoke Rapids
USGS 02080500 - real-time stage and flow		USGS gauge36.46000, -77.63361Roster gauge for this water. Releases from the Roanoke Rapids plant drive the whole tailwater; check before a float.
3Weldon Access
Town of Weldon - 3 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp36.42744, -77.59095Town of Weldon ramp, three lanes and a carry-down - the striper-run centre of the river. Rock outcroppings and hidden rocks in the river here.
4Odom Access
Odom Correctional Farm - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp36.32523, -77.44061Ramp at Jackson maintained on Odom Prison Farm land; carry-down as well as trailer lanes.
5Edwards Ferry Access
NC Wildlife Resources Commission - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp36.20841, -77.38348WRC ramp at Scotland Neck. Heavily used during striper season.
6Lewiston Woodville Access
NC Wildlife Resources Commission - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp36.09756, -77.25003WRC ramp in Bertie County with a paddle-craft carry-down.
7Hamilton Access
NC Wildlife Resources Commission - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp35.94729, -77.20262WRC ramp at Hamilton. Heavily used during striper season.
8Williamston Access
NCDOT - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp35.86002, -77.04111NCDOT-owned ramp at Williamston, with a carry-down for paddlers.
9Astoria Landing Access
NC Wildlife Resources Commission - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp35.82196, -76.90243WRC ramp at Jamesville with a carry-down; lowest river ramp before the Plymouth reach.
10Plymouth Water Street Access
Town of Plymouth - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp35.86672, -76.75309Town of Plymouth ramp on the waterfront.
11NC Hwy 45 Bridge Access
NC Wildlife Resources Commission - 2 launch lanes		Access / boat ramp35.91262, -76.72061WRC ramp at the NC 45 bridge below Plymouth, on the tidal lower river.

Guides on the Roanoke River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

About the Roanoke River

The Roanoke River at Roanoke Rapids is where one of the best-known striped bass runs on the Atlantic coast comes to a stop. Fish that winter in Albemarle Sound push more than a hundred and thirty miles upriver each spring and hold in the rocky water below the Roanoke Rapids dam, and for six or eight weeks the stretch between the dam and Weldon carries as much boat traffic as any inland water in North Carolina. The USGS gauge at Roanoke Rapids reports discharge and stage; it carries no water temperature series, so anglers track the run by calendar, air temperature and reports rather than a live reading.

Striped bass are the reason people come, but they are not the whole fishery. American and hickory shad run the same water slightly earlier and are targeted with small darts and flies. Largemouth bass hold in the slower margins, white perch are abundant, and channel, blue and flathead catfish are taken through the summer once the stripers have dropped back downstream. Below Weldon the river slows and widens through the Roanoke River floodplain, where the fishing turns to catfish and largemouth in a very different setting.

Guides here run center consoles and jon boats from the Weldon ramps. Trips are short-run and structure-focused, working rock ledges and current seams with jigs, soft plastics and fly gear, and during the peak weeks the water is genuinely crowded. Bank fishing is possible at Weldon and at the dam access, but the productive water is reached by boat. Outside the run, several of the same guides shift to catfish trips and to the lower river.

Release schedule drives the fishing. Flow out of the dam changes through the day and a rising or falling release can turn the bite on or off within an hour, so the Roanoke Rapids gauge is checked constantly during the season. Striped bass regulations on this river are set separately from the general state rules and change year to year, and the regulations linked below carry the current season, creel and slot limits.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Roanoke River cfs

Now: 1,520 cfs, read 6:00 am CDT, Thu Oct 22, 2026 (USGS 02080500, ROANOKE RIVER AT ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Weldon boat ramp - the main striper launch and the busiest access on the river.
Roanoke Rapids access below the dam at the USGS gauge - bank fishing and the flow reference.
Halifax landing - lower access below the rapids section.
Scotland Neck and Palmyra landings - middle river trailer access for catfish and largemouth.
Williamston ramp - lower river access toward the floodplain and sound.
Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge paddle accesses - lower river hand launch.
Weldon riverfront walkway - bank access during the spring run.

Seasons

Spring: the striped bass run peaks from mid-April into May, with shad slightly earlier; this is the defining season.
Summer: stripers drop back downstream and the river becomes a catfish and largemouth fishery.
Fall: quieter, with catfish and scattered largemouth and a few stripers holding in the lower river.
Winter: low guided activity above Weldon; the fish are in Albemarle Sound.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Roanoke River?

As of Oct 22, 6:00 am, the USGS gauge ROANOKE RIVER AT ROANOKE RAPIDS, NC reads 1,520 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Roanoke River?

Anglers target American Shad, Blue Catfish, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Flathead Catfish, Hickory Shad, Largemouth Bass, Striped Bass, White Perch on the Roanoke River in North Carolina.

Are there fishing guides on the Roanoke River?

GuidedFloats lists 2 guides and outfitters on the Roanoke River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Roanoke River?

Weldon boat ramp - the main striper launch and the busiest access on the river. Roanoke Rapids access below the dam at the USGS gauge - bank fishing and the flow reference. Halifax landing - lower access below the rapids section. Scotland Neck and Palmyra landings - middle river trailer access for catfish and largemouth. Williamston ramp - lower river access toward the floodplain and sound. Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge paddle accesses - lower river hand launch. Weldon riverfront walkway - bank access during the spring run.

When is the best time to fish the Roanoke River?

Spring: the striped bass run peaks from mid-April into May, with shad slightly earlier; this is the defining season. Summer: stripers drop back downstream and the river becomes a catfish and largemouth fishery. Fall: quieter, with catfish and scattered largemouth and a few stripers holding in the lower river. Winter: low guided activity above Weldon; the fish are in Albemarle Sound.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Roanoke River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the North Carolina agency site: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/fishing/regulations