Waterlands

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SheepsheadShoulder season

Gut · North Carolina

Caffeys Inlet (historical)

36.23°N · 75.77°W · Gut · Currituck Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 4 PM · Sheepshead

80/100Great
Now
6512 PM EST
Best window
3-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score65Great
Tide3.3 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind6 kn NEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherMostly cloudy82% cloud
Water63°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here

Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder

Sheepshead season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Sheepshead in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Caffeys Inlet (historical)

Depth
2-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSheepshead

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 Caffeys Inlet (historical)

Caffeys Inlet (historical) is a gut in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are weakfish, black sea bass and red drum. It is peak season now for weakfish, black sea bass, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, black drum and summer flounder. Weakfish peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Pettys Pond

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Spotted seatrout 73
    • Weakfish 71

    6 kt NEH 1:28 PM · 3.7 ftL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Pine Island Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Spotted seatrout 73
    • Weakfish 71

    6 kt NEH 1:28 PM · 3.7 ftL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Baums Creek

    Gut · 2.1 mi

    74
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 74
    • Red drum 73
    • Spotted seatrout 72

    6 kt NEH 1:28 PM · 3.7 ftL 8:05 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Shoe Hole Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    71
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 71
    • Little tunny 70
    • Red drum 70

    6 kt NEH 1:28 PM · 3.7 ftL 8:05 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.