Waterlands

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Summer flounderPeak season

Gut · North Carolina

Cabs Creek

34.67°N · 76.59°W · Gut · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 PM · Summer flounder

86/100Epic
Now
596 AM EDT
Best window
9-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score59Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind5 kn NNWgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 7 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy38% cloud
Water81°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer flounder 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 Summer flounder is best here

Peak season for Summer flounder · 5 more weeks at peak

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Summer flounder · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in North Carolina

Spot profile

Cabs Creek

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSummer flounder

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 Cabs Creek

Cabs Creek is a gut in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, black sea bass and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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

  • Shackleford Slue

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Spot 76
    • Atlantic tarpon 70

    5 kt NNWL 11:15 AM · 0.7 ftH 5:56 PM · 2.1 ft

  • Bald Hill Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 76
    • Florida pompano 63

    5 kt NNWL 12:22 PM · 0.7 ftH 6:23 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Back Sound

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 76
    • Florida pompano 63

    5 kt NNWL 12:22 PM · 0.7 ftH 6:23 PM · 1.8 ft

  • Bottle Run Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Spot 70
    • Florida pompano 59

    5 kt NNWL 12:19 PM · 0.6 ftH 6:39 PM · 1.7 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.