Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Humphrey Point

34.69°N · 77.02°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red drum

79/100Great
Now
715 PM EST
Best window
5-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Nov 15 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score66Great
Tide1.1 ft ▲Flooding
Wind3 kn NNEgusts 6 · steady
Air temp52°Cool
WeatherMostly cloudy52% cloud
Water67°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Humphrey Point

Depth
3-5 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 Humphrey Point

Humphrey Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 3-5 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 red drum. It is peak season now for little tunny, black sea bass, red drum and bluefish, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, striped bass and sheepshead. Little tunny peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Taylor Bay

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    80
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 80
    • Spotted seatrout 78
    • Weakfish 75

    6 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Sanders Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    78
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 78
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Red drum 71

    6 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Guthrie Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    78
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 78
    • Black sea bass 71
    • Red drum 71

    6 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Goose Creek Shoals

    Bar · 0.6 mi

    76
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 76
    • Bluefish 72
    • Black sea bass 71

    6 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:16 AM · 2.2 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.