Waterlands

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Little tunnyPeak season

Bay · North Carolina

Sparrow Bay

35.43°N · 76.88°W · Bay · Pamlico and Pungo Rivers

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Best score today · 5 PM · Little tunny

74/100Great
Now
578 PM EST
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

Time8PNOW
Score57Good
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
Wind6 kn NEgusts 11 · steady
Air temp55°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud

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

Peak season for Little tunny · 4 more weeks at peak

Little tunny season by week of the year. Peak season for Little tunny · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Little tunny in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Sparrow Bay

Depth
2-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak 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 Sparrow Bay

Sparrow Bay is a bay in Pamlico and Pungo Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 2-8 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spotted seatrout, weakfish and red drum. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, weakfish, red drum and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, summer flounder and black drum. Spotted seatrout peak from September through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

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.
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.
Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Core Point Shoal

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    65
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 65
    • Spotted seatrout 61
    • Weakfish 61

    6 kt NEH 8:47 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:55 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Sullivan Point

    Cape · 2.3 mi

    61
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 61
    • Spotted seatrout 61
    • Weakfish 61

    6 kt NEH 8:47 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:55 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Tripp Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    56
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 56
    • Spotted seatrout 55
    • Red drum 54

    6 kt NE

  • Maules Point

    Cape · 3.0 mi

    56
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 56
    • Spotted seatrout 55
    • Red drum 54

    6 kt NE

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.