Waterlands

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Summer flounderShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Drum Point

35.34°N · 76.14°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Summer flounder

84/100Great
Now
644 PM EST
Best window
4-5 PMFlood 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

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score66Great
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.8 knmodeled · toward NNE
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 6 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water66°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Summer 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 Summer flounder is best here

Shoulder season for Summer flounder · 4 more weeks at shoulder

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

Summer flounder in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Drum Point

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSummer 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 Drum Point

Drum Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Harbor Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    81
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 81
    • Spotted seatrout 81
    • Weakfish 79

    5 kt EH 5:23 PM · 0.7 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Juniper Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    81
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 81
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Weakfish 79

    7 kt ENEH 5:23 PM · 0.7 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.4 ft

  • East Bluff Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    80
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 80
    • Red drum 79
    • Weakfish 79

    5 kt EH 5:23 PM · 0.7 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Southwest Bay

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    78
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 78
    • Red drum 77
    • Spotted seatrout 77

    5 kt EH 5:23 PM · 0.7 ftL 11:42 PM · 0.4 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.