Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Baum Point

35.92°N · 75.66°W · Cape · Croatan and Roanoke Sounds

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Best score today · 11 AM · Red drum

82/100Great
Now
602 PM EST
Best window
3-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 PM · now

Time2PNOW
Score60Good
Tide3.8 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind6 kn ENEgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 5 s
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherOvercast87% cloud
Water63°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Baum Point

Depth
1-3 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 Baum Point

Baum Point is a cape in Croatan and Roanoke Sounds, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 1-3 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, spot and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for little tunny, red drum, spotted seatrout and bluefish, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and black drum. Little tunny peak from October through November. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October.

Tackle & technique

Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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.
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

  • Deep Wear Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Black sea bass 67
    • Bluefish 66

    6 kt ENEH 4:16 PM · 0.6 ftL 10:45 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Pork Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Black sea bass 67
    • Bluefish 66

    6 kt ENEH 4:58 PM · 0.5 ftL 11:27 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Ballast Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 64

    6 kt ENEL 8:06 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:15 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Shallowbag Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Spot 67
    • Little tunny 65

    6 kt ENEL 8:06 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:15 AM · 3.5 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.