…so my wife made plans to visit some friends in Raleigh this weekend, which gave me the opportunity to chase some different fish. Most folks think about rock bass as being fun but usually small. The Roanoke bass is a pretty cool species in the same genus as rock bass, but which is restricted to the Roanoke, Tar, and Neuse rivers in VA and NC. It differs in getting much larger than rock bass -- to nearly fifteen inches and just under four pounds! They routinely get into the 10-12" range, which is probably helped by a 2-fish daily limit and an 8" minimum length limit! These things are little Piedmont groupers -- they pull disproportionately hard for their size!
I only had few hours on Saturday afternoon to fish, so hit a small stream a little ways out of town. The first pool I walked up on had four largemouth in the 15-17" range swimming leisurely along. I dropped a clawdad in front of the lead fish and he immediately raced forward and inhaled it. I released that fish and saw the others were milling around, looking like they were wondering where the crayfish went. I wound up catching all four of them, they never caught on. They must not get pressured very hard!
The next cast was against a rock bluff, and it paid off with the target species. I probably released two dozen nice Roanoke bass. I was wet wading without phone or camera, so I only got a few photos of a couple of the last fish I caught -- I ran back up to the car to grab my big camera. This time of year the most obvious difference from rock bass is the lack of a black border on the median fins; in the spring, Roanoke bass turn jet black with small brassy-gold spots on the sides, an elegant and spectacular fish indeed!
They might not be worth the eight hour drive by themselves, but if you're in the area they're certainly worth chasing down!