Waterlands

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WeakfishPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Orange Point

35.76°N · 76.06°W · Cape · Alligator River

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Best score today · 8 AM · Weakfish

77/100Great
Now
532 PM EST
Best window
3-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score35Fair
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind9 kn NWgusts 32 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp49°Cool
WeatherClear1% cloud

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Peak season for Weakfish · 3 more weeks at peak

Weakfish season by week of the year. Peak season for Weakfish · 3 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Weakfish in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Orange Point

Depth
1-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonWeakfish

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 Orange Point

Orange Point is a cape in Alligator River, North Carolina. Depth is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, Florida pompano and red drum. It is peak season now for little tunny, Florida pompano, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, striped bass, summer flounder and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Babbitt Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    64
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 64
    • Spotted seatrout 63
    • Weakfish 59

    10 kt SH 7:40 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:26 AM · 0.4 ft

  • The Frying Pan

    Bay · 3.3 mi

    64
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 64
    • Spotted seatrout 63
    • Weakfish 58

    10 kt SH 7:40 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:26 AM · 0.4 ft

  • The Straits

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 62
    • Weakfish 62
    • Red drum 60

    10 kt SH 7:40 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:26 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Grapevine Bay

    Bay · 3.0 mi

    62
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 62
    • Red drum 60
    • Weakfish 60

    10 kt SH 7:40 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:26 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.