Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Archer Point

34.67°N · 77.01°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 5 PM · Little tunny

74/100Great
Now
556 PM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score55Good
Tide2.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind8 kn NEgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 4 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast55% chance of rain
Water81°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

Archer Point

Depth
2-4 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Archer Point

Archer Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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

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.
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

  • Taylor Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Spot 78
    • Red drum 68

    8 kt NEL 11:56 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:46 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Goose Creek Shoals

    Bar · 0.7 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 72
    • Florida pompano 69

    8 kt NEL 11:56 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:46 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Humphrey Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 72
    • Florida pompano 62

    8 kt NEL 11:56 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:46 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Guthrie Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 72
    • Florida pompano 62

    8 kt NEL 11:56 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:46 AM · 2.1 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.