Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Bostic Point

35.33°N · 76.63°W · Cape · Pamlico and Pungo Rivers

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Best score today · 9 AM · Red drum

73/100Great
Now
601 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score60Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind7 kn ENEgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 2 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherOvercast77% chance of rain
Water83°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 9 more weeks at peak

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 9 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in North Carolina

Spot profile

Bostic Point

Depth
1-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 Bostic Point

Bostic Point is a cape in Pamlico and Pungo Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-7 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 crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, little tunny, Spanish mackerel and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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

  • Old House Cove

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 72
    • Crevalle jack 67

    7 kt ENEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Brick Hill Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 67
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    7 kt ENEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Old Field Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Spot 63
    • Crevalle jack 60

    13 kt ENEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Clark Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • Spot 63
    • Crevalle jack 60

    13 kt ENEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 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.