The Little Bridge is the Melvin Daniels Bridge, the low bridge on the U.S. 64 causeway between Nags Head and Roanoke Island, and it is the most-searched single fishing spot on the northern Outer Banks: free, lit, walkable, and the closest sound-side trout and drum water to every rental house in Nags Head. Nobody publishes an official Little Bridge report. The Nags Head tackle shops mention it when it is on, and this page gives you the rest — live sound-side water temperature and today’s tides, what the bridge fishes like through the year, and which side you can still fish.
It is not a pier, so a North Carolina Coastal Recreational Fishing License is required for anyone 16 or older (how to get one).
Live conditions right now
Water and wind right now
Today’s tides — Roanoke Sound Channel
Live NOAA CO-OPS readings from the nearest stations, loaded when you opened this page at . The bridge sits on Roanoke Sound, so this page reads the sound-side stations: NOAA’s Roanoke Sound Channel tide prediction and the Oregon Inlet Marina gauge, the nearest water-temperature station on the sound side.
How to read it: what each water temperature makes possible, and best tide for surf fishing. The Outer Banks fishing conditions page carries every station on the beach side by side.
Where the Little Bridge gets reported
TW’s Bait & Tackle and Oceans East, both in Nags Head, are the shops whose reports cover the causeway; when trout are on at the bridge it is usually in their posts within a day. The nearest written report we track by machine is Jennette’s Pier, three miles east on the ocean side — different water, but the same weather, and it is shown below when recent.
Checking for the latest shop or pier report…
What’s typical here by season
Spring (April–May)
Speckled trout return to the causeway as the sound warms through the 60s, with puppy drum and the first flounder along the pilings. Soft plastics on a slow retrieve, early and late, are the standard approach; the Oregon Inlet Marina reading above is the sound-side temperature to watch.
Summer (June–August)
Sheepshead on the pilings with fiddler crabs or sand fleas, flounder on the bottom, small bluefish and croaker for the kids, and crabbing off the catwalk. The water gets warm and the daytime bite gets slow; fish the lights after dark or the hour around sunrise.
Fall (September–November)
The best months on the bridge. Speckled trout stack up on the causeway from October into November, puppy drum push through, and the falling tide after dark under the lights is the classic Little Bridge session. This is when the Nags Head shops’ reports start naming it.
Winter (December–March)
Striped bass in the sound on the cold nights, speckled trout holding deep on the mild ones, and a lot of empty catwalk. Dress for the wind; there is nothing between you and it.
Month by month, with the rules for each species, is in the species calendar.
Reader reports
Catches sent in by people fishing the beach, with a name and a date on each. They post automatically after a spam check. Caught something here? Send it in — it takes a minute.
Loading the latest reader reports…
Before you go
- Which side: the south-side catwalk is the one you fish. The north-side catwalk and the rock rip-rap along the causeway were closed to fishing in the summer of 2020 after a run of crashes at the crosswalk, and the state has said there is no workable way to reopen them. There is also a small pier by the restrooms at Daniels park on the Nags Head end.
- Parking and facilities: the parking lot, bathhouse, cleaning table and covered picnic area are at the Daniels park access at the bridge, with ramp access to the catwalk from both sides of the road.
- Tides: the sound tide lags the ocean and is weather-driven; a hard west wind can push the water out for a day. The Roanoke Sound Channel prediction above is the right reference, but the wind reading matters as much.
- The ocean side of the same trip: the Nags Head fishing report covers the piers and surf ten minutes east.
Questions
Is there a Little Bridge OBX fishing report?
No official one. The Nags Head tackle shops, TW’s and Oceans East, mention the causeway in their reports when it is fishing well. This page shows the live sound-side water temperature and tides and describes what the bridge fishes like by season.
Can you still fish from the Little Bridge?
Yes, from the south-side catwalk and the small pier at Daniels park. The north-side catwalk and the rip-rap along the causeway have been closed to fishing since 2020.
Do I need a fishing license on the Little Bridge?
Yes. It is a public bridge, not a licensed pier, so anyone 16 or older needs a North Carolina Coastal Recreational Fishing License.
Sources: NOAA CO-OPS for every live reading; the piers’ and shops’ own report pages, linked where they are named. Report pages and hours were checked September 13, 2026.
