Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Cape Point

34.58°N · 76.53°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Summer flounder

77/100Great
Now
503 PM EST
Best window
6-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score49Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward W
Wind19 kn NNEgusts 25 · steady
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy39% cloud
Water67°FPersisted

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

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Cape Point

Depth
5-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Cape Point

Cape Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 5-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, bluefish and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for little tunny, bluefish, Florida pompano and black sea bass, and shoulder season for striped bass, Atlantic croaker, spot and black drum. Little tunny peak 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

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.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Barden Inlet

    Channel · 3.8 mi

    72
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 72
    • Little tunny 71
    • Black sea bass 69

    10 kt ENEL 8:43 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:49 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Catfish Point

    Bar · 2.2 mi

    70
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 70
    • Little tunny 67
    • Bluefish 64

    12 kt NEL 8:43 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:49 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Lookout Bight

    Bay · 2.4 mi

    68
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 68
    • Little tunny 64
    • Atlantic croaker 62

    12 kt NEL 8:43 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:49 AM · 4.3 ft

  • Wreck Point

    Cape · 2.4 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Florida pompano 63
    • Bluefish 62

    12 kt NEL 8:43 PM · 0.7 ftH 2:49 AM · 4.3 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.