Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Southern flounderPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Horse Point

34.66°N · 76.57°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Southern flounder

85/100Epic
Now
5110 AM EST
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

Notify me when Horse Point scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 6 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score30Fair
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.1 kn · toward W
Wind6 kn SSWgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 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 Southern 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 Southern flounder is best here

Peak season for Southern flounder · 2 more weeks at peak

Southern flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Southern flounder · 2 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Southern flounder in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Horse Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSouthern 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 Horse Point

Horse Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, black sea bass, bluefish and gag grouper, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and summer flounder. Little tunny peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

Tackle & technique

Southern flounder
Flounder lie half buried on soft bottom along marsh edges, creek mouths, dock pilings and the sandy sides of passes, usually in 1 to 15 feet of water. Drag a mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bump a soft plastic slowly along the bottom, and give the fish a few seconds before setting the hook. In fall the adults stack up at passes and jetties on their way offshore, and many anglers gig them at night in knee-deep water.
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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cabs Creek

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    76
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 76
    • Weakfish 74
    • Red drum 72

    10 kt NNEH 2:49 PM · 2.4 ftL 9:23 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Johnsons Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    65
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 65
    • Black sea bass 64
    • Little tunny 64

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

  • Bald Hill Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    65
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 65
    • Black sea bass 64
    • Little tunny 64

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

  • Back Sound

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    65
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 65
    • Weakfish 65
    • Black sea bass 64

    10 kt NNEH 3:16 PM · 1.9 ftL 10:30 PM · 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.