FISHING

CLICK HERE: REGULATIONS: Fishing & License

CLICK HERE: FISHING: Lake Gaston Striper

CLICK HERE:  Local Fishing Info

Lake Gaston:  This 20,300 acre reservoir along the Roanoke River basin is 34 miles long and has 350 miles of shoreline.  The water feeds in primarily from the Kerr Lake Dam at Buggs Island, VA, and leaves the lake at the dam in Gaston / Roanoke Rapids, NC.  

For a list of Marinas and public boat landings, visit the "Marinas" link on left.  Gas and electric motorized boats are welcome and the HP restriction for boat motors is unlimited.

VA & NC honor each other's fishing license on Lake Gaston, so only one state's fishing license is required (see links below).  Virginia or North Carolina state fishing licenses and permits are honored on Lake Gaston on the Roanoke River, including all tributary waters accessible by boat from the main bodies of the reservoirs.  (Note: North Carolina regulations apply on North Carolina portions of these waters.)

Lake Gaston has a superior largemouth bass population. Many anglers like to fish the aquatic vegetation for largemouth bass. Boat docks also are likely places to catch largemouth bass. Striped bass, which are stocked by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, continue to produce a number of quality-sized fish. Striper fishing in the tail waters below Kerr Dam is an annual event.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) annually stock walleyes, and the best fishing is usually in the upper end during February and March. Lake Gaston also contains channel catfish, blue catfish, chain pickerel, and bluegill.

In years past, the headwaters of Lake Gaston have been low in oxygen and not had the habitat to hold fish. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Lake recently completed venting all the turbines in Kerr Dam to oxygenate the tailrace during summer months. This newly created habitat should allow more fish to move upstream during the summer.