Neuse river rock fish..

CarolinaWildlife

Ten Pointer
Being that the last dam on the Neuse river was removed this summer....other than the Falls lake dam....I wonder if the stripers will start coming up to spawn.

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Mr.Gadget

Mr.Gadget

Old Mossy Horns
Wondered that myself.
River sure is full of mud all the time so dont know what that or all the runoff will play in it.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Some will during periods of high water but there has been a study done and the Majority of Stripers after Quaker Neck dam was removed in 1998 never ran up to milburnie dam. The majority spawn between Smithfield and Goldsboro which is waaaaay below Milburnie but above where they removed Quaker Neck Dam . so, I dont see why the Majority would now run up to falls. a few will but the spawning habitat is better for Stripers where they are spawning now or they would run up higher. IMHO the removal of Milburnie it is going to be better for American and Hickory Shad, and Herring instead of Stripers as the Stripers have had almost 20 years and they have decided they like 2 areas between Smithfield and Goldsboro instead of higher up.

If I recall correctly they have only been a few years out of these 20 years since Quaker Neck was removed that Stripers in numbers came up into Wake Co. The Nesue is just too small up there to have a big spawn. Shad on the other hand i expect to see them make it to Falls dam.
 
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Bailey Boat

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
I think you'll find that Stripers need clean water and a rocky bottom in order to spawn. If the bottom is mainly mud or silt the eggs won't hatch, they die in the mud.
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
Stripers do like rock areas to spawn. That is why they h ave been spawning in the 2 places just below Smithfield but they do not spawn on bottom. They spawn on thge surface and the eggs float downstream for at least 50 miles then hatch. The flow is what matters as low flows the eggs will sink to the bottom and die. The neuse is just too small up above milvurnie. I think they will not go up there in numbers but the shad will. Shad have no problem running up creeks and the neuse is basically a big creek up there. I hope I am wrong but I wouldn't count on a big run. I on the other hand may try to catch the first American shad at falls of the neuse road in a hundred years.
 
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nchunt101

Ten Pointer
Mack in N.C. said:
Stripers do like rock areas to spawn. That is why they h ave been spawning in the 2 places just below Smithfield but they do not spawn on bottom. They spawn on thge surface and the eggs float downstream for at least 50 miles then hatch. The flow is what matters as low flows the eggs will sink to the bottom and die. The neuse is just too small up above milvurnie. I think they will not go up there in numbers but the shad will. Shad have no problem running up creeks and the neuse is basically a big creek up there. I hope I am wrong but I wouldn't count on a big run. I on the other hand may try to catch the first American shad at falls of the neuse road in a hundred years.
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I have been thinking of doing this myself. I would think around mid Apirl would be a good time to start. What are your thoughts?
 

duckhunterwst

Eight Pointer
Just curious as i have never fished for shad. Do people eat them and what kind are you referring to that make the run?
 

Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
duckhunterwst said:
Just curious as i have never fished for shad. Do people eat them and what kind are you referring to that make the run?
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They can be eaten and it is White and Hickory Shad....some of the Whites will be 4-6 lbs......6 lbers are not east to get but they are there.
 

Firefly

Old Mossy Horns
My friends and I used to catch lots of Shad out of the Neuse in spring, I was raised just a few miles from it..Caught a lot of Catfish and Bream as well but never any Stripers...
 

DRS

Old Mossy Horns
That part of the Neuse is about the same size as the upper Tar River and stripers make it up every year. I have friends that have wore them out between Milburnie Dam and Poole road. They have caught some 10 to 20 pounders along that stretch. Just like the Tar I'm sure water levels will make a difference.
 
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JONOV

Old Mossy Horns
Be interesting to see...The river is skinny at that point...I can walk across it in waders at a few points. I wouldn't mind getting after a few of them so close to home.
 
23mako

23mako

Ten Pointer
It is a good place to fish. Some nice catfish in the upper reaches of it. Just have to be careful of nefarious creatures around some of the places.
 

apexhunter

Ten Pointer
With a few exceptions stripers, like Salmon, mostly spawn in the same waterway they are born in. So for them to possibly return to the upper Neuse near Fall's Dam will most likely take a few generations to develop a large enough stock to make any kind of difference. That said some stripers do go into different rivers (some that were tagged and released in the Roanoke have been caught in the Tar) and if enough fish wander off course it could help to grow the run in the Neuse. It would be great to have this down the road as they are fun to catch...but the mud bottom and overall size & average depth of the river from Smithfield north might be prohibitive to them making the migration and those that do will be highly regulated by the State (similar if not more so than the Roanoke).
 
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Mack in N.C.

Old Mossy Horns
I don't want to sound negative but sure some will make it past milvurnie but probably won't be a lot most years. Most will still spawn between Smithfield and Goldsboro. Neuse up towards falls dam is wAAAAAAY shallow. The one that do go up there to spawn will get it done quick, just like the stripers from Kerr who spawn in the dan in Danville va. The dan is a big river up there many times bigger than the neuse but it is shallow so when the stripers get up there they spawn and get the heck back down to Kerr thus they have a short time wise run where as on the Roanoke tge run last for a good while....
 
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bryguy

Old Mossy Horns
We catch shad(and some HUGE white shad) all the way till almost June at the Wiggins mill Damn in Wilson. That is contenea creek and the bottom there is rocky but there is always good flow. Have heard of Stripers being caught in that ares, just never seen it first hand. It took what like 15 years or so of intense stocking and management by he NCWRC to get the striper population strong in the Roanoke River. Not sure that the effort will be as strong on the Nuese, so it could 30 years or so before the Nuese is where the Roanoke is.
 

jab0106

Ten Pointer
tons of places below goldsboro to walk across the river in waders also...and plenty of muck. can't really see that as being awfully prohibitive many miles upstream. seems much more likely they will stop where they wanna.
 
Hydemarsh

Hydemarsh

Six Pointer
jab0106 said:
tons of places below goldsboro to walk across the river in waders also...and plenty of muck. can't really see that as being awfully prohibitive many miles upstream. seems much more likely they will stop where they wanna.
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agree, I live on the river and it is way muddier in Smithfield and Goldsboro than it is in Clayton. Catch some nice strippers there. April and May has been best for me.
 
cpharris3nc

cpharris3nc

Button Buck
bryguy said:
We catch shad(and some HUGE white shad) all the way till almost June at the Wiggins mill Damn in Wilson. That is contenea creek and the bottom there is rocky but there is always good flow. Have heard of Stripers being caught in that ares, just never seen it first hand. It took what like 15 years or so of intense stocking and management by he NCWRC to get the striper population strong in the Roanoke River. Not sure that the effort will be as strong on the Nuese, so it could 30 years or so before the Nuese is where the Roanoke is.
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NCWRC has a video out from a distric biologist discussing stocking the Neuse
 
cpharris3nc

cpharris3nc

Button Buck
DRS said:
That part of the Neuse is about the same size as the upper Tar River and stripers make it up every year. I have friends that have wore them out between Milburnie Dam and Poole road. They have caught some 10 to 20 pounders along that stretch. Just like the Tar I'm sure water levels will make a difference.
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I’m 2 miles upstream of Milburnie. Figure we might be able to catch some this year. Any pointers you’re willing to share?
 

timber

Twelve Pointer
I think water flow has more to do with where they spawn as anything. They come up the Meherrin and Nottoway rivers. The Meherrin you would have to get close to Brunswick co Va to get rocks but there is a dam at Emporia that keeps them from going that far. They are not in those rivers yet like at Weldon but 30 years ago hardly ever heatd of catching one in the Meherrin river
 

todobien

Eight Pointer
Water flow will definitely affect where they will spawn. Last spring there were LOTS of stripers near where Milburnie had been during the period of high dam releases. When the water dropped many moved back down a ways. White shad will typically go as far upstream as they can. Not sure of historic records in Neuse but in Yadkin there are records from N. WIlkesboro (Yadkin becomes Pee Dee and enters ocean by Georgetown SC) and for the Roanoke there is one from Salem VA.
 

Starfan

Eight Pointer
todobien said:
Water flow will definitely affect where they will spawn. Last spring there were LOTS of stripers near where Milburnie had been during the period of high dam releases. When the water dropped many moved back down a ways. White shad will typically go as far upstream as they can. Not sure of historic records in Neuse but in Yadkin there are records from N. WIlkesboro (Yadkin becomes Pee Dee and enters ocean by Georgetown SC) and for the Roanoke there is one from Salem VA.
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What year was stripers recorded at N. Wilkesboro? Never heard of that but very interesting. Thanks
 

todobien

Eight Pointer
I was talking about white shad. Sorry I wasn't clear. It may take me a bit of time to find the record but it was before any of the dams were put in the river. I think Idols was built in the late 1890's so it would have been before that.
 

todobien

Eight Pointer
THis link has one of my favorite references to runs of shad as a great great great great uncle signed this petition - https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.php/document/csr09-0064. THe report I was looking for was done by a guy named Stevenson in 1897. A interesting read is "The Common Rights of Mankind": Subsistence, Shad and Commerce in the EArly Repulican South" by Harry Watson which discusses the conflicts between dam owners and others. Another good shad read is "The Founding Fish" by John McPhee which discusses the importance of shad during the birth of our nation.
 
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