Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Moore Bay

35.15°N · 76.68°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 12 AM · Little tunny

76/100Great
Now
524 AM EDT
Best window
4-5 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Sep 28 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score68Great
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind6 kn Wgusts 11 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 7 s
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water75°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Little tunny 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 Little tunny is best here

Shoulder season for Little tunny · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Little tunny in North Carolina

Spot profile

Moore Bay

Depth
4-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonLittle tunny

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 Moore Bay

Moore Bay is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 4-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and gray snapper, and shoulder season for black drum, red snapper, weakfish and sheepshead. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Newton Creek

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 74
    • Red drum 69

    10 kt NNEL 5:52 AM · 0.4 ftH 2:35 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Powers Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 69
    • Gray snapper 64

    10 kt NNEL 5:52 AM · 0.4 ftH 2:35 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Harper Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 69
    • Gray snapper 64

    10 kt NNEL 5:52 AM · 0.4 ftH 2:35 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Lambert Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 69
    • Gray snapper 64

    10 kt NNEL 5:52 AM · 0.4 ftH 2:35 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.