The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries announced on March 20 that a one-month striped bass fishing season will open April 1 in portions of the Tar-Pamlico and Neuse rivers and their tributaries.
The season, which applies to both recreational and commercial fisheries, will run from April 1 through April 30. For recreational anglers, the daily creel limit is one fish per person, with a minimum total length of 18 inches. No striped bass between 22 and 27 inches may be kept. Commercial fishermen are also limited to one fish per person per day under the same size restrictions. Legal commercial gear includes hook-and-line, and existing tagging requirements as well as gill net regulations remain in effect.
The open areas are defined upriver of specific demarcation lines for each river: for the Tar-Pamlico River, upriver of a line from Gum Point to Fork Point; for the Neuse River, upriver of a line from Cooper Point to Fisher Landing Point. The Division established these provisions through Proclamation FF-19-2026 for recreational fishing and Proclamation FF-20-2026 for commercial fishing.
A similar proclamation has been issued by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for waters under its jurisdiction. According to recent analysis referenced by the Division, harvest closures implemented since 2019 have not led to increased striped bass abundance in these rivers. The analysis suggests that sustainability is unlikely due to factors beyond fishing mortality and inadequate spawning abundance.
The one-month harvest season was developed by both agencies to allow some access to stocked fish while limiting harvests of Albemarle Sound-Roanoke River stock striped bass. Results from a 2022 stock assessment update indicate that this stock remains overfished and subject to overfishing; therefore, no harvest season will open in those waters.
For more information about regulations or management plans, interested parties can consult the Division’s website or contact species leads Todd Mathes or Robert Corbett.
