Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Rhodoms Point

36.00°N · 75.73°W · Cape · Croatan and Roanoke Sounds

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Best score today · 2 AM · Black sea bass

47/100Good
Now
358 AM EDT
Best window
8 AM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score35Fair
Tide2.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.7 knmodeled · toward S
Wind19 kn NNEgusts 37 · steady
Sea stateRough5.6 ft · 7 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast47% chance of rain
Water78°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Black sea bass in North Carolina

Spot profile

Rhodoms Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

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 Rhodoms Point

Rhodoms Point is a cape in Croatan and Roanoke Sounds, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, bluefish and Florida pompano. 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. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Eagleton Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • Florida pompano 35

    19 kt NNEL 11:33 AM · 1.3 ftH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ft

  • Blount Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • Florida pompano 35

    19 kt NNEL 11:33 AM · 1.3 ftH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ft

  • Bens Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    35
    Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season
    • Florida pompano 35
    • King mackerel 35
    • Black sea bass 31

    19 kt NNEL 3:17 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:51 PM · 0.5 ft

  • 35
    Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season
    • Florida pompano 35
    • King mackerel 35
    • Black sea bass 31

    19 kt NNEL 3:17 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:51 PM · 0.5 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.