Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Rockhole Bay

35.19°N · 76.54°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 7 PM · Red snapper

76/100Great
Now
469 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Flooding0.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

Time9PNOW
Score46Good
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind4 kn ESEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.6 ft · 3 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast87% cloud
Water83°FModel

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Rockhole Bay

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
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 Rockhole Bay

Rockhole Bay is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

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.
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

  • Dump Creek

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 74
    • Red drum 68

    4 kt ESEH 11:15 PM · 0.5 ftL 7:08 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Sound Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 68

    4 kt ESEH 11:15 PM · 0.5 ftL 7:08 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Little Drum Creek

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 74
    • Red drum 68

    4 kt ESEH 11:15 PM · 0.5 ftL 7:08 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Bay Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Spot 69
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt ESEH 11:15 PM · 0.5 ftL 7:08 AM · 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.