Take Your Kids Fishing: Striped Bass on the Roanoke River
The Professor's Blog 05.09.13
According to the 2012 Special Report on Fishing and Boating released by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the Outdoor Foundation, fishing participation is on the increase. The report indicated that 46.2 million Americans fished (16.2 percent of the population). For kids, fishing participation is highest between the ages of six and 12 and 82 percent of kids in that age range are introduced to the outdoors by their parents!
As a parent of two children (an 11-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son) I believe it is my responsibility to expose them to the thrill of the hunt and the joy of the outdoors. Already they have been deer, dove, and swan hunting, my son has been turkey hunting the last two years on youth day, and he shot his first deer last year in Alabama. This year I made a resolution to add more fishing trips to their regular outdoor activities. Along with local opportunities, I decided to book a charter striped bass fishing trip on the Roanoke River in northeast North Carolina. The area we chose was in the Roanoke River Striped Bass Management Area and the season generally runs from March 1 to April 30, unless closed by proclamation. There is an 18-inch minimum with no fish between 22 and 27 inches allowed and a daily creel limit of two, only one of which can be greater than 27 inches. On May 1, all striped bass caught in the Roanoke River Striped Bass Management Area must be released immediately. Additionally in some areas, from April 1 to June 30, anglers may use only a single barbless hook or a single hook with the barb bent down.
Striped bass (Morone sasatilis, sometimes called rockfish) have an important history in North Carolina. They were described by John White (an English pioneer) in 1585 and were caught in great quantities from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Conservation efforts were undertaken in the 1980s to prevent overfishing and improve water quality and the abundance of striped bass has increased from an historic low of around 195,000 fish in 1988 to approximately two million fish today. Anglers from all over the world come to North Carolina each spring to enjoy this world-class fishery.
The striped bass has a silver body with dark stripes running longitudinally from behind the gills to the tail. They are native to the Atlantic Coast and are anadromous–they spawn in freshwater but spend their adult lives in saltwater. In North Carolina, striped bass are found in the Albemarle Sound and many rivers including the Roanoke, Tar-Pamlico, Neuse, Cape Fear, and others and are important for sport fishing. In 2009, anglers took over 150,000 striped bass fishing trips which generated over $12 million in expenditures. To qualify for the North Carolina Angler Recognition Program (NCARP), striped bass need to be 10 pounds or 27 inches long. The state record in North Carolina was taken from the Hiwassee Reservoir in 2012 and was 66 pounds!
For our trip I booked a charter for four (my wife decided to join us for the fun) in mid-April with the hope of the kids catching lots of fish. We departed the Raleigh area around 5 am and arrived in Weldon, North Carolina (the “Rockfish Capital of the World”) around 6:30 am. We were guided by Captain Richard Andrews who owns and operates Tar-Pam Guide Service out of Washington, North Carolina. Captain Richard earned a Master’s degree in Natural Resources from the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University and proved to be a wealth of information on striped bass, the history of the Roanoke River, and fishing all around Eastern North Carolina. As expected, Captain Andrews provided a family-friendly atmosphere and made sure that all of us had a great experience.
On our trip the action was pretty steady. We all caught fish and Captain Andrews continually worked various spots along the river to give us the best opportunities for finding fish and even a few chances at hickory shad. Fishing for stripers was very easy for the kids. Captain Andrews would take us upstream, equip each rod with a live minnow, and we would slowly drift downstream. The fish were easy to catch and not a lot of technique was required, the perfect fishing activity for the kids. Overall, we ended up catching around 30 striped bass with most in the 16- to 17-inch range, my son landed one just over the 18-inch limit which gave us a tasty treat for dinner that night. Best of all, the conversation on the trip home and in the days and weeks following the trip has centered on the one question from my kids of “when can we go fishing again?”
I grew up in Michigan where I spent my early years hunting and fishing with family and friends and where I learned the intrinsic value of the outdoors and wildlife. While pursuing a graduate education in my twenties, I was fortunate enough to live in northern Indiana and western and eastern South Dakota where I took full advantage of the unique hunting and fishing opportunities in each state. After graduate school, my first job as a state wildlife biologist brought me to southern Minnesota where I immersed myself in the science of wildlife and habitat management and began to really appreciate the connections of research and management. In 2004, I moved my wife and two children to North Carolina where I have dedicated my career to mentoring the next generation of wildlife biologists and educating the general public about wildlife research and management.
The goals of my blog are to help connect all of you to the science of wildlife management. I plan to bring the latest scientific research to you in a casual, fun, and informative format. Everyone from the die-hard hunter, to the professional land manger, and the everyday homeowner encounters wildlife on a daily basis. Helping people understand the science behind wildlife management, the laws that govern wildlife and their habitats, the ways citizens can use research to enhance their land and hunting experience, and dispelling the myths that surround wildlife, while fostering an appreciation for the natural world are my passions. Hopefully, that will come across in my posts and I encourage everyone to take advantage of the special question and answer section where I will do my best to offer you the latest scientific research to help enhance your enjoyment of the natural world.
Credentials
I earned a Bachelor of Science from Central Michigan University (1990), a Master of Science in Behavioral Ecology from Purdue University (1994), and a Ph.D. in Wildlife Management from South Dakota State University (1998). From 1999-2004, I worked as a research scientist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Since 2004, I have been a professor in the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology Program at North Carolina State University (NCSU) where my research interests include population ecology, habitat use and management of big game species and predators, predator/prey interactions, human/wildlife interaction, and wildlife and zoonotic diseases. Specifically, I have conducted research on white-tailed deer, coyotes, feral pigs, American woodcock, fox squirrels, wild turkey, Canada geese, river otters, amphibians, and reptiles, and other species.
I am a member of The Wildlife Society, American Society of Mammalogists, Great Plains Natural Science Society, Jack H. Berryman Institute, Scientific Advisory Panel, North Carolina Prescribed Fire Council, and the North Carolina Herpetological Society. In 2002, I became a ‘Certified Wildlife Biologist’ via The Wildlife Society. I have served as an Associate Editor of the Prairie Naturalist and the Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Additionally, I am past-President of the Great Plains Natural Science Society and the North Carolina Chapter of The Wildlife Society.
