Waterlands

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SheepsheadShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Eastmouth Bay

34.70°N · 76.53°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 6 AM · Sheepshead

81/100Great
Now
5410 AM EST
Best window
5-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 6 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score65Great
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward W
Wind6 kn SSWgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 8 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy64% cloud
Water67°FBias corrected

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

Eastmouth Bay

Depth
About 1 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Eastmouth Bay

Eastmouth Bay is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is about 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    67
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 67
    • Black sea bass 64
    • Bluefish 61

    10 kt NNEH 3:16 PM · 1.9 ftL 10:30 PM · 0.4 ft

  • White Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    66
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 66
    • Red drum 65
    • Spotted seatrout 62

    10 kt NNEH 3:16 PM · 1.9 ftL 10:30 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Henry Jones Creek

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Weakfish 63
    • Spotted seatrout 62

    10 kt NNEH 3:16 PM · 1.9 ftL 10:30 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Wading Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Red drum 65
    • Spotted seatrout 62

    10 kt NNEH 3:32 PM · 1.9 ftL 10:27 PM · 0.3 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.