Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Gut · North Carolina

Hooker Gut

35.88°N · 75.86°W · Gut · Alligator River

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Best score today · 5 PM · Red snapper

84/100Great
Now
573 PM EDT
Best window
4-11 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score57Good
Tide0.3 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward W
Wind6 kn ESEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 6 s
Air temp84°Hot
WeatherPartly cloudy37% cloud
Water81°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red snapper 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 Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Hooker Gut

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed snapper

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 Hooker Gut

Hooker Gut is a gut in Alligator River, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

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 black drum, black sea bass, sheepshead and Florida pompano. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

Red snapper
Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
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

  • Liehue Gut

    Gut · 1.2 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Spot 74
    • Crevalle jack 71

    6 kt ESEH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Deer Creek

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Southern flounder 74
    • Spot 74

    7 kt EH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Deep Bay

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Spot 74
    • Crevalle jack 72

    7 kt EH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Northeast Prong

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 73
    • Crevalle jack 71

    6 kt ESEH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft

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.