Waterlands

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Striped bassShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Cradle Point

35.43°N · 76.67°W · Cape · Pamlico and Pungo Rivers

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Best score today · 5 PM · Striped bass

80/100Great
Now
6511 PM EST
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score65Great
Tide0.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind7 kn NEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 2 s
Air temp55°Mild
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water65°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Striped bass 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 Striped bass is best here

Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Striped bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Striped bass · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • Not here
  • This week

Striped bass in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Cradle Point

Depth
1-4 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · ProtectedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonStriped bass

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 Cradle Point

Cradle Point is a cape in Pamlico and Pungo Rivers, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spotted seatrout, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, little tunny, red drum and weakfish, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and black drum. Spotted seatrout peak from September through November. Little tunny peak from October through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Ashon Gut

    Gut · 0.8 mi

    81
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 81
    • Red drum 79
    • Weakfish 77

    7 kt NEL 2:55 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:07 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Cousin Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    81
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 81
    • Red drum 79
    • Southern flounder 74

    7 kt NEL 2:55 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:07 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Farrow Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    73
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 73
    • Little tunny 70
    • Red drum 70

    7 kt NEL 2:55 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:07 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Chambers Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    73
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 73
    • Little tunny 70
    • Red drum 70

    7 kt NEL 2:55 AM · 0.3 ftH 9:07 AM · 0.5 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.