The Roanoke Bass is an excellent fish to learn how to fly fish. Use a light or ultra light rod and reel combination.

Roanoke bass are active at night as much as they are during the day. In fact, they will tend to move further away from their normal cover under the protection of night. Like all freshwater bass, the Roanoke Bass have a fixed iris, which is one of the reasons why they avoid the sunlight. But they are also designed for rapid acceleration and ability to make tight turns.

By Design

The Roanoke Bass has a deep body that makes it appear compressed from front to back, which gives it a pan shape. A strong tail and paired pectoral and pelvic fins gives the Roanoke Bass the ability to make rapid short movements to lunge at their prey and make rapid turns as they try to get away. Their design positions the Roanoke Bass, as well as other members of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae), as perfect ambush predator.

Night Movement

However, they are hardly nomadic fish and still prefer their traditional cover and still prefer scavenging for food off the lake bottom. What will cause them to travel, though, is the constant quest for food. When their prey is on the move, they will follow and when they have eaten their prey, they will travel to search out more.

Food Preferences

The Roanoke Bass enjoys standard river fair including fathead minnows, gizzard shad, golden shiners, leeches, worms, dragonflies, damselflies, mayflies and crayfish. Many of these baits are easy to obtain from local baitshops, but for most anglers bent on catching the Roanoke Bass, the simple earth worm is most recommended. They can be obtained anywhere including your even backyard – something most children enjoy gathering up at night.

Casting

The Roanoke Bass can be caught by casting your bait with the use of a bobber to keep the lure about 6 inches off the bottom, in perfect line of site for the roanoke bass. For dock fishing, just drop your line with the bait 6 inches off the bottom.

Fly Fishing

The Roanoke Bass is an excellent fish to learn how to fly fish. Use a light or ultra light rod and reel combination. This corresponds to a weight-3 or a weight-2 rod. Weight 3 is a better choice as it can be used for catching larger river fish like smallmouth bass. If the roanoke bass is the largest fish in your area, use a six pound test line, otherwise, go with an eight pound test line.

Day and Night

During the night, they can be found moving about and away from their natural protective cover. During the day, they will be in and around docks, weed beds, sunken debris and pools and riffles.