Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Channel · North Carolina

Big Foot Slough Channel

35.15°N · 76.01°W · Channel · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 3 AM · Little tunny

68/100Great
Now
413 AM EDT
Best window
3-8 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.7 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score41Fair
Tide0.7 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind13 kn NNEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy50% chance of rain
Water79°FObserved

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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

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

Big Foot Slough Channel

Depth
3-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Big Foot Slough Channel

Big Foot Slough Channel is a channel in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

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 gray snapper, and shoulder season for black drum, black sea bass, red snapper and weakfish. 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 Reef

    Bar · 2.4 mi

    65
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 65
    • King mackerel 65
    • Gray snapper 62

    13 kt NNEH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ftL 12:31 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Teaches Hole Channel

    Channel · 3.0 mi

    58
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 58
    • Spot 56
    • Gray snapper 53

    21 kt NEH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ftL 12:31 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Northern Pond

    Bay · 2.7 mi

    55
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Spot 55
    • Gray snapper 52

    21 kt NEH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ftL 12:31 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Gap Point

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    50
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 50
    • Spot 50
    • Gray snapper 48

    21 kt NEH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ftL 12:31 PM · 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.