Waterlands

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Southern flounderPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Swan Point

34.54°N · 77.36°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 6 AM · Southern flounder

75/100Great
Now
305 PM EST
Best window
5-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 5 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score30Fair
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward E
Wind5 kn SEgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.3 ft · 7 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy73% cloud
Water68°FModel

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Southern flounder is best here

Peak season for Southern flounder · 2 more weeks at peak

Southern flounder season by week of the year. Peak season for Southern flounder · 2 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Southern flounder in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Swan Point

Depth
1-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · 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 Swan Point

Swan Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

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

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.
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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Roses Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Little tunny 73
    • Black sea bass 69

    9 kt ENEL 8:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:19 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Bumps Creek

    Gut · 0.6 mi

    74
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 74
    • Red drum 73
    • Weakfish 72

    9 kt ENEL 8:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:19 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Hatch Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Black sea bass 69
    • Bluefish 68

    9 kt ENEL 8:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:19 AM · 3.0 ft

  • Chadwick Bay

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Red drum 70
    • Black sea bass 69

    9 kt ENEL 8:13 PM · 0.4 ftH 2:19 AM · 3.0 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.