Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Sandy Point

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 PM · Little tunny

76/100Great
Now
481 PM EDT
Best window
4 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score48Good
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.2 kn · toward ESE
Wind7 kn ENEgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 7 s
Air temp82°Hot
WeatherPartly cloudy29% cloud
Water81°FObserved

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.

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

Sandy Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Outer · ExposedPoint · 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 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 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 king mackerel, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, gray triggerfish and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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

  • Eastmouth Bay

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Spot 61
    • Atlantic tarpon 60

    7 kt ENEH 6:23 PM · 1.8 ftL 1:35 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Henry Jones Creek

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Red drum 62
    • Southern flounder 61

    7 kt ENEH 6:23 PM · 1.8 ftL 1:35 AM · 0.8 ft

  • White Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 61
    • Southern flounder 60

    7 kt ENEH 6:23 PM · 1.8 ftL 1:35 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Shell Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Spot 59
    • King mackerel 58

    7 kt ENEH 6:23 PM · 1.8 ftL 1:35 AM · 0.8 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.