Waterlands

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Black sea bassPeak season

Channel · North Carolina

Browns Inlet

34.60°N · 77.23°W · Channel · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 7 AM · Little tunny

79/100Great
Now
775 PM EST
Best window
5-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 16 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score77Great
Tide1.4 ft ▲Flooding
Wind10 kn Sgusts 18 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy57% cloud
Water68°FPersisted

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Black sea bass is best here

Peak season for Black sea bass · 3 more weeks at peak

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Peak season for Black sea bass · 3 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Browns Inlet

Depth
3-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · flat bottom
Season
Peak 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 Browns Inlet

Browns Inlet is a channel in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, little tunny and weakfish. It is peak season now for black sea bass, little tunny, weakfish and bluefish, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, striped bass and summer flounder. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Little tunny peak from October through November. Weakfish peak 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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Banks Channel

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    77
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 77
    • Weakfish 75
    • Red drum 73

    8 kt EL 9:10 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 3.2 ft

  • Sanders Creek

    Gut · 3.5 mi

    76
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 76
    • Red drum 75
    • Weakfish 75

    5 kt ENEL 9:08 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:20 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Browns Sound

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Black sea bass 72
    • Red drum 72

    8 kt EL 9:10 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 3.2 ft

  • Onslow Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Black sea bass 72
    • Red drum 72

    8 kt EL 9:10 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:23 AM · 3.2 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.