Waterlands

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Southern flounderPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Sanders Point

34.69°N · 77.01°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Southern flounder

71/100Great
Now
578 AM EDT
Best window
8-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score57Good
Tide1.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward S
Wind10 kn NNEgusts 21 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 4 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherOvercast95% cloud
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Southern flounder 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 Southern flounder is best here

Peak season for Southern flounder · 8 more weeks at peak

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

Southern flounder in North Carolina

Spot profile

Sanders Point

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSouthern flounder

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 Point

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

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, Atlantic croaker and king mackerel. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, Atlantic croaker, king mackerel and spot, and shoulder season for little tunny, black sea bass, gag grouper and gray triggerfish. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October.

Tackle & technique

Southern flounder
Flounder lie half buried on soft bottom along marsh edges, creek mouths, dock pilings and the sandy sides of passes, usually in 1 to 15 feet of water. Drag a mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bump a soft plastic slowly along the bottom, and give the fish a few seconds before setting the hook. In fall the adults stack up at passes and jetties on their way offshore, and many anglers gig them at night in knee-deep water.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Taylor Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Crevalle jack 75
    • Spot 75

    10 kt NNEL 11:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:11 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Humphrey Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    70
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • King mackerel 69

    10 kt NNEL 11:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:11 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Goose Creek Shoals

    Bar · 1.1 mi

    70
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • King mackerel 69

    10 kt NNEL 11:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:11 PM · 2.5 ft

  • Archer Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    70
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 70
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • King mackerel 69

    10 kt NNEL 11:48 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:11 PM · 2.5 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.