Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Bull Bay

35.95°N · 76.34°W · Bay · Albemarle Sound

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Best score today · 9 AM · Little tunny

69/100Great
Now
452 PM EDT
Best window
2-11 PMMoving water

Data from: ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score45Good
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind9 kn ENEgusts 17 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 3 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy71% chance of rain
Water82°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Little tunny is best here

Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder

Little tunny season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Little tunny in North Carolina

Spot profile

Bull Bay

Depth
9-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonLittle tunny

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Bull Bay

Bull Bay is a bay in Albemarle Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 9-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Bull Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Atlantic tarpon 61

    9 kt ENE

  • Reed Point

    Cape · 12 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 61
    • Atlantic croaker 60

    9 kt ENE

  • Drummond Point

    Cape · 9.0 mi

    61
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 61
    • Spot 58
    • Crevalle jack 57

    9 kt ENE

  • Bluff Point

    Cape · 8.4 mi

    54
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 54
    • Crevalle jack 54
    • King mackerel 54

    9 kt ENE

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NCDMF before you keep a fish.