Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Shell Point

34.55°N · 77.34°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 5 PM · Little tunny

73/100Great
Now
4612 PM EDT
Best window
4-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.1 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score46Good
Tide3.1 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward W
Wind4 kn Egusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 6 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water82°FModel

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

Shell Point

Depth
2-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Shell Point

Shell Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 2-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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, gray triggerfish, black drum 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

  • Howard Bay

    Bay · 0.2 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt EL 7:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:02 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Mile Hammock Bay

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt EL 7:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:02 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Traps Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    4 kt EL 7:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:02 AM · 2.4 ft

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Red drum 67
    • Spot 66

    4 kt EL 7:26 PM · 0.8 ftH 1:02 AM · 2.4 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.