Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Stumpy Creek Bay

35.66°N · 76.07°W · Bay · Alligator River

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Best score today · 8 AM · Weakfish

78/100Great
Now
533 PM EDT
Best window
3 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Sep 23 · 12 AM

Time12A
Score58Good
Tide0.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind8 kn NNEgusts 16 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy48% chance of rain
Water81°FBias corrected

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in North Carolina

Spot profile

Stumpy Creek Bay

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Stumpy Creek Bay

Stumpy Creek Bay is a bay in Alligator River, North Carolina. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

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.
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

  • Cypress Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    71
    Top: Southern flounderPeak season
    • Southern flounder 71
    • Red drum 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 70

    6 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Bear Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 68
    • Atlantic tarpon 65

    6 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Newport News Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 68
    • Crevalle jack 64

    6 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Tuckahoe Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 65

    6 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 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.