The Daily Southerner — If you hurry, you still have time to get involved in the first annual Big Rock Fishing Tournament on the beautiful, majestic Roanoke River at Weldon, scheduled for Saturday. The Town of Weldon is your presenting sponsor and encourages and welcomes your participation. You may sign up in person at Weldon Town Hall, or register online at www.historicweldonnc.com. All checks should be made payable to the Town of Weldon. Deadline for registration is by 8 p.m. tonight. This Town of Weldon web site also has good intel, rules, and regulations about the tourney.

Entry fee is only 60 bucks, and that one fee covers EVERYONE fishing on your boat. What a deal!  It’s hard for a family to eat out these days at a decent restaurant for less than $60. Winners will be selected according to the total weight of the two biggest Rockfish per boat. Cash prizes are as follows; 1st Place, $1000; 2nd Place, $500 and 3rd Place, $250

Tournament boundaries are from Roanoke Rapids Dam to the U.S. 258 Bridge. Fishing will begin at first safe light Saturday morning and to qualify for prizes your boat MUST be within the Start/Finish buoys by 3:30 p.m. Saturday for official weigh-in.

The Striper season runs from March 1, to April 30. After April 30, it's ALL catch and release, no exceptions. A barbless hook regulation is in effect until June 30 anywhere upstream of U.S. 258 Bridge. Only a single barbless hook may be used for bait fishing, and also a single barbless hook on all lures. The barb may be crimped down. Circle hooks are highly recommended as they insure a non-lethal mouth hook-up, and help prevent hook swallowing that usually results in the unnecessary killing of the fish.

Keeper Rockfish must be 18-inches in length, and no fish between 22 to 27 inches, known as a slot fish, may be possessed at any time. The daily creel limit is two fish per person, and only one larger than 27 inches may be included in your daily creel limit.

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently held a ribbon cutting to officially open the newly renovated Weldon Boating Access Area. Weldon Mayor Julia Meacham summed it up nicely when she said, “Now, fisherman will be able to launch their boats much faster and have more time to fish. Weldon is proud to be the Rockfish Capital of the World, and we are equally proud of the newly renovated boat access area here at the Roanoke River Landing. The natural beauty of the rocks, the rapids, the water and the joy and pleasure people derive from fishing here is mother nature at her best.”

Well said, Mayor Meacham! Hey! Let’s celebrate with a Big Rock Fishing Tournament! Sounds like a plan. Tight Lines will be there! How about YOU!

Hotspot of the Week: Got to be White Shad! They are being caught in good numbers in the Tar River at all locations around Rocky Mount. They are knocking the paint off my Custom Jimmy D green on green on green shad rigs. I gladly donated a few to other nearby bank fishermen, and watched them share some of the same fish catching success I was enjoying. I love to catch fish first and foremost, but I also get a charge out of watching those around me catch fish too.

Bobby Mason and his fishing buddy Danny Butler were fishing the Roanoke River around Halifax. They were having some success catching Rockfish on White Shad cut bait. Danny got a hit from something with shoulders on it. After a good fight he brought his fish to the boat. He was looking for something with stripes on it, but got something with big whiskers. It was a Blue Catfish tipping the scales at 31.2 pounds. Proud Danny announced that is THE largest fish he ever caught. Bobby said he wants credit for being a good net man. Duly noted! Congratulations Danny B! I am scheduled to chase Rockfish with Bobby and Danny later this month, and I can’t wait! Friends are good, but fishing friends are priceless!

Rick’s Soapbox:  Wifey, Linda, taught school for a number of years in Halifax County. She knows all the shortcuts and backcountry roads between Tarboro and Weldon, and has shared this top-secret intel with me. I see abundant wildlife every time I travel that route. Herds of deer and flocks of wild turkey are common. I saw one freshly tilled field that had deer on one end, and turkey on the other. It would have made a nice cover shot for a Field & Stream Magazine. Recently I observed a turkey mating ritual up close, and it was fascinating. The tom turkey strutted around fanning his feathers, and doing a little dance. They were totally blind and oblivious to my presence 30-yards away. I couldn’t stay for the finale. I had fish to catch in Weldon.

Thought for the Day: “There is a fine line between fishing and standing on the bank looking like an idiot,”  according to our KY friend, Steve Sproles.

Catching fish?  Tell us about it.  Better yet, send us a picture with all the details.  We love to hear from you at CarolinaAngler@Gmail.com.

See you on the water, my friend!