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Striped Bass
RestrictedMorone saxatilis
The NC rulebook, translated for the Banks.
The Short Version
North Carolina sets the keep floor at 28" — measure carefully, short fish go back. The daily creel is 1 per person per day. Season: january–april (ocean).
Keep Size
28"
Size fish must clear to be kept
Run the tape from the snout to the far edge of the tail pressed flat together — a pinched tail adds the half inch that decides a citation.
Daily Creel
1 per person per day
What one angler may take per day
Counts are per person unless the rule says "per boat," and they aggregate across everywhere you fished that day — sound, surf, and ocean all land in the same tally.
Season Window
January–April (ocean)
When harvest is legal
Proclamation-managed: the window shifts year to year, so confirm it the week you fish.
Where It Stands
Restricted
Harvest is legal only inside the posted window. The NC DMF proclamation list is the final word on dates.
Ocean Rockfish off the Northern Beaches
The ocean striped bass fishery here is a northern-beaches winter game: Duck, Southern Shores, and Kitty Head hold fish off the bar when the water is in the low 40s and fresh bait is holding along the sloughs. The Albemarle and Roanoke Sound seasons are proclamation-managed separately and can have different size windows — the ocean rule does not follow you inside.
Local practice is bunker or mullet chunks on a fish-finder rig and a lot of patience between bites. A 28-inch ocean rockfish is a legitimate trophy on the Banks.
The Fine Print
- •28" minimum total length applies in the ocean fishery.
- •The ocean season typically runs January–April; sound and Albemarle seasons are set by separate DMF proclamations.
- •Rockfish are a cold-water favorite along the Duck and Kitty Hawk surf when bait holds in close.
- •Read the current proclamation for exact open dates — the line between ocean and sound matters here more than anywhere on the coast.