Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Goose Bay

34.74°N · 76.58°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 8 AM · Little tunny

80/100Great
Now
496 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.6 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 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score49Good
Tide1.6 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward E
Wind12 kn ENEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherOvercast82% chance of rain
Water81°FObserved

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

Goose Bay

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

Goose 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 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

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

  • South Leopard Creek

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 76
    • Crevalle jack 75

    12 kt ENEH 7:42 PM · 2.0 ftL 2:49 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Whitehurst Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 72
    • Crevalle jack 71

    12 kt ENEH 7:25 PM · 1.8 ftL 2:12 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Black Hammock Point

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    68
    Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season
    • Florida pompano 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • King mackerel 67

    12 kt ENEH 7:25 PM · 1.8 ftL 2:12 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Gaskill Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    68
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • King mackerel 67

    12 kt ENEH 7:25 PM · 1.8 ftL 2:12 AM · 0.5 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.