Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Horse Point

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · Weakfish

78/100Great
Now
4410 AM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score44Fair
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind7 kn SWgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.3 ft · 6 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water81°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Weakfish in North Carolina

Spot profile

Horse Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 24 species here; the best right now are red drum, Atlantic croaker and spot. It is peak season now for red drum, Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and gray triggerfish. Red drum peak from August through November. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cabs Creek

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Red drum 77
    • Spot 74

    7 kt SWH 2:56 PM · 2.1 ftL 9:41 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Johnsons Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Red drum 68
    • Spot 67

    7 kt SWH 3:23 PM · 1.7 ftL 10:48 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Bald Hill Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Red drum 68
    • Spot 67

    7 kt SWH 3:23 PM · 1.7 ftL 10:48 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Back Sound

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Red drum 68
    • Spot 67

    7 kt SWH 3:23 PM · 1.7 ftL 10:48 PM · 0.9 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.