Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Lookout Bight

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

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red snapper

75/100Great
Now
583 PM EST
Best window
4-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 12 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score58Good
Tide3.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood1.2 kn · toward ESE
Wind7 kn NNEgusts 11 · steady
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water67°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red snapper 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 Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Lookout Bight

Depth
5-15 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · slope
Season
Shoulder seasonRed snapper

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 little tunny, black sea bass and weakfish. It is peak season now for little tunny, black sea bass, weakfish and bluefish, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, summer flounder and sheepshead. Little tunny peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Weakfish peak from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Red snapper
Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
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

  • Barden Inlet

    Channel · 1.5 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Black sea bass 73
    • Weakfish 71

    9 kt EL 7:42 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:43 AM · 4.1 ft

  • Wreck Point

    Cape · 0.3 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Bluefish 67

    8 kt ENEL 7:42 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:43 AM · 4.1 ft

  • Catfish Point

    Bar · 0.4 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Bluefish 69
    • Black sea bass 68

    8 kt ENEL 7:42 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:43 AM · 4.1 ft

  • Blinds Hammock Bay

    Bay · 2.0 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Red drum 68

    9 kt EL 7:42 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:43 AM · 4.1 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.