Best Fishing Times in North Carolina This Week

North Carolina's fishing year runs from the Roanoke River striped bass run in March through May and spring crappie to channel catfish in spring and fall and trout stocked fall through spring. Within any day, the first and last hour of light are the surest bite, best of all when a solunar window lands on them.

The table above shows the next 7 days for Morehead City, Bryson City and Hatteras, with each day's major and minor periods, sunrise and sunset, and a rating from Fair to Best. For your own spot, enter a ZIP on the best fishing times page.

The Roanoke River striped bass run, from March through May, is the most popular native striped bass fishery in the state. That is from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The best time to fish for white crappie is the spring spawning season, when they move into shallow shoreline areas. That is from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The North Carolina fishing license page has what a resident and nonresident license costs and where to buy one, read from the state's own regulations.

On the coast, often as much as the moon windows. The North Carolina tide charts page has high and low tide for every station, so you can line a moving tide up with a window here.

The solunar windows are the old angler's rule, and the studies are mixed. Dawn and dusk are the reliable part: fish feed in low light. So each day here is rated on the moon phase and on whether a moon window meets sunrise or sunset, with the weather as a smaller nudge.

Each town's card above rates today Fair, Good, Great or Best. The rating adds up the moon phase, whether a moon window meets sunrise or sunset, and the National Weather Service forecast for that town: pressure, fronts, wind, rain, cloud and thunder. A Fair day still has its dawn and dusk.