Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Blount Bay

36.02°N · 75.71°W · Bay · Croatan and Roanoke Sounds

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Best score today · 2 AM · Little tunny

53/100Good
Now
301 PM EDT
Best window
1 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding1.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score30Fair
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind20 kn NEgusts 41 · steady
Sea stateRough5.8 ft · 8 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast64% chance of rain
Water78°FObserved

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

Blount Bay

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Blount Bay

Blount Bay is a bay in Croatan and Roanoke Sounds, North Carolina. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, Florida pompano and gag grouper. It is peak season now for king mackerel, Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Florida pompano, gag grouper and gray triggerfish. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November. Gag grouper peak from November through December.

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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

  • Colington Creek

    Gut · 1.1 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Florida pompano 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Eagleton Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Florida pompano 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Bens Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEL 3:17 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:51 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Rhodoms Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Florida pompano 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 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.