Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Sandy Point

34.70°N · 76.52°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Summer flounder

85/100Epic
Now
697 AM EST
Best window
7-9 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Nov 15 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score56Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward W
Wind14 kn NNEgusts 24 · steady
Air temp68°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy64% cloud
Water66°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer 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 Summer flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Summer flounder season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Summer flounder in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Sandy Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSummer 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 Sandy Point

Sandy Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, bluefish and weakfish. It is peak season now for little tunny, bluefish, weakfish and black sea bass, and shoulder season for striped bass, summer flounder, spot and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December. Weakfish peak from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Shell Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    85
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 85
    • Bluefish 77
    • Weakfish 76

    7 kt NEL 10:41 AM · 0.4 ftH 4:21 PM · 1.9 ft

  • White Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    85
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 85
    • Red drum 84
    • Spotted seatrout 81

    7 kt NEL 10:41 AM · 0.4 ftH 4:21 PM · 1.9 ft

  • Henry Jones Creek

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    84
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 84
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Weakfish 80

    7 kt NEL 10:41 AM · 0.4 ftH 4:21 PM · 1.9 ft

  • Eastmouth Bay

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    81
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 81
    • Weakfish 81
    • Red drum 80

    7 kt NEL 10:41 AM · 0.4 ftH 4:21 PM · 1.9 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.