Waterlands

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BluefishPeak season

Bay · North Carolina

Lookout Bight

34.62°N · 76.53°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 11 AM · Little tunny

73/100Great
Now
572 AM EST
Best window
10 AM-3 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Nov 3 · 6 AM

Time6A
Score77Great
Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward W
Wind7 kn NEgusts 9 · building
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 6 s
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherPartly cloudy26% cloud
Water66°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Peak season for Bluefish · 8 more weeks at peak

Bluefish season by week of the year. Peak season for Bluefish · 8 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Bluefish in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Lookout Bight

Depth
5-15 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Peak seasonBluefish

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 Lookout Bight

Lookout Bight is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 5-15 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are bluefish, weakfish and black sea bass. It is peak season now for bluefish, weakfish, black sea bass and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, striped bass and black drum. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December. Weakfish peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.
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

  • Barden Inlet

    Channel · 1.5 mi

    66
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 66
    • Bluefish 66
    • Weakfish 66

    11 kt NEL 6:46 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:05 PM · 4.4 ft

  • Blinds Hammock Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    63
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 63
    • Bluefish 62
    • Red drum 62

    11 kt NEL 6:46 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:05 PM · 4.4 ft

  • Catfish Point

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    58
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 58
    • Black sea bass 56
    • Little tunny 56

    16 kt NEL 6:46 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:05 PM · 4.4 ft

  • Wreck Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    57
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 57
    • Black sea bass 56
    • Little tunny 56

    16 kt NEL 6:46 AM · 0.9 ftH 1:05 PM · 4.4 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.