Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Drum Point

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

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Best score today · 7 AM · Atlantic croaker

82/100Great
Now
5512 AM EST
Best window
2-6 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 5 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score67Great
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.8 knmodeled · toward NNE
Wind7 kn SSEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 7 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherClear8% cloud
Water66°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Drum Point

Depth
1-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

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 weakfish, little tunny and red drum. It is peak season now for weakfish, little tunny, red drum and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, black drum and striped bass. Weakfish peak from October through November. Little tunny peak from October through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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.
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

  • Harbor Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Southern flounder 69
    • Spotted seatrout 69

    4 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Juniper Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Spotted seatrout 70
    • Southern flounder 69

    5 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft

  • East Bluff Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    69
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 69
    • Red drum 68
    • Spotted seatrout 68

    4 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Southwest Bay

    Bay · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 68
    • Red drum 66
    • Spotted seatrout 66

    4 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 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.