Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Garden Point

35.20°N · 76.61°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Little tunny

75/100Great
Now
541 PM EDT
Best window
4 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score54Good
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind4 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherClear11% cloud
Water83°FModel

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

Garden Point

Depth
1-6 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 Garden Point

Garden Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 1-6 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 red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, red drum and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for gray triggerfish, black drum, black sea bass and gag grouper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Red drum peak from August 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

  • Alligator Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Southern flounder 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 70

    4 kt NEH 7:11 PM · 0.6 ftL 4:12 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Harper Creek

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 72
    • Southern flounder 71

    4 kt NEH 7:11 PM · 0.6 ftL 4:12 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Plum Creek

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 72
    • Southern flounder 71

    4 kt NEH 7:11 PM · 0.6 ftL 4:12 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Win Creek

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Red drum 72
    • Southern flounder 71

    4 kt NEH 7:11 PM · 0.6 ftL 4:12 AM · 0.4 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.