Waterlands

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Gray snapperOff season

Gut · North Carolina

Sanders Creek

34.63°N · 77.18°W · Gut · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 4 PM · Gray snapper

78/100Great
Now
352 PM EST
Best window
3-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.6 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
Score35Fair
Tide2.1 ft ▲Flooding
Wind4 kn NNEgusts 6 · steady
Air temp45°Cool
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water68°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Gray 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 Gray snapper is best here

Out of season for Gray snapper · shoulder season starts in 26 weeks

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Out of season for Gray snapper · shoulder season starts in 26 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray snapper in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Sanders Creek

Depth
Up to 3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
Season
Off seasonGray 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 Sanders Creek

Sanders Creek is a gut in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for red drum, black sea bass, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, black drum and summer flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
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

  • Browns Inlet

    Channel · 3.5 mi

    72
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 72
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66

    10 kt EL 8:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:19 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Browns Sound

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    71
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 71
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Spot 65

    10 kt EL 8:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:19 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Cow Channel

    Channel · 2.5 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 67
    • Black sea bass 63

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

  • Bear Inlet

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    68
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 68
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Little tunny 65

    10 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.