Flyfishing for Striped Bass 
Manns Harbor Bridge

Saltwater Fly Anglers Fishing North Carolina's Manns Harbor Bridge

      Striped bass fishing in the Roanoke/Albemarle Sound area has certainly seen it's ups and downs.  In the late 50's thru the mid 60's  fishing was so good as to support an entire fleet of inshore charter boats in the area.  By the mid-70's the fishery was almost completely decimated.

      Overfishing, poor recruitment years, and degradation of habitat from agricultural run-off all contributed to the decline. 

     Moratorium on all harvesting was the only option to save the fishery from total loss. The fishery was closed from Marshes Light all the way to Roanoke Rapids for years.  Recovery has been a success, although difficult to accurately gauge it seems apparent that the number of fish has still not recovered to what it once was.  There is also a decided lack of big fish in these waters.   Fish over 12 pounds are rare.

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      The U.S. 64 Bridge between Manns Harbor and Roanoke Island is a focal point of this prolific fishery. With the exception of the very coldest weeks of mid-winter, it is possible to catch school size stripers almost year-round.  In the spring, catch rates along the bridge are equal to those on the upper reaches of the Roanoke River up at Weldon.  Fifty to one hundred fish days continue at the bridge long after the spawning run of fish have departed the upper Roanoke River.

Mortality rates increase dramatically as water temperature approaches 80 degrees f.   Fish that can be de-hooked in the water and without handling have the greatest chance of survival.

      With the first cool evenings of September the topwater action begins to heat up. Sun-up and sun-down are your best bets for topwater strikes until the water cools to the mid- to upper sixties.   By mid-October large schools of surface feeding stripers are observed almost daily.   Between Halloween and Christmas the Striped bass fishing is often nothing short of phenomenal.

      Tidal current is minimal around the Manns Harbor Bridge, the major factor affecting fishing is wind driven current.  Striped bass fishing is almost always better around this bridge when the current is flowing south i.e. a northerly wind.

Wade Fishing  

      Much of the shoreline of the Roanoke Sound is not easily accessible, and is for the most part rather unremarkable. The area around the Manns Harbor Bridge occasionally affords the shorebound fly angler exceptional fishing opportunities.  Just to the north of the mainland (west) end of the Roanoke Sound Bridge is a small point. 

      If you stand on the tip of this point and face northeast: to your left is a broad shallow bay; offshore, to your right is a slightly deeper channel that runs parallel to the shore.  When the wind is from the north or northeast and the lunar tide is flooding , these two currents will come into conflict at the end of this small point.  Just about the time when the wind reaches a velocity that makes fly casting boarding on the impossible,  is when the striped bass fishing is generally the very best.  On many a cold and windy November morning I have stood knee deep on the end of that point, not able to punch a fly much more than 30 foot past the rod tip, with stripers literally driving schools of small menhaden through my legs.

      During calmer weather the best fishing opportunities usually occur around sun-up and again at sun-set.   Surface sliders, worked across the point, will often take fish after sunset provided the wind generated current is flowing south.

      Recreational harvest days are set by declaration of DMF.   Fly anglers may have a more pleasurable experience by avoiding weekend harvest days.  Alternative, they may choose to fish at night.  The majority of the anglers around the bridge will head in with the setting sun.

Harry Hall    sefly.com  

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