Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Flounder Rock

35.10°N · 76.10°W · Bar · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Little tunny

78/100Great
Now
596 PM EDT
Best window
6-7 PMDusk
Tide now
Ebbing0.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Tuesday, Sep 22 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score59Good
Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast65% chance of rain
Water82°FBias corrected

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

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

Flounder Rock

Depth
3-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Flounder Rock

Flounder Rock is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 3-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for king mackerel, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for gag grouper, gray triggerfish, red snapper and black drum. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Baymarsh Thorofare

    Gut · 2.7 mi

    87
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 87
    • Spotted seatrout 83
    • Atlantic tarpon 81

    1 kt ENEL 7:20 PM · 0.8 ftH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Mount Vernon Rock

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    83
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 83
    • Spotted seatrout 79
    • King mackerel 76

    1 kt ENEL 7:20 PM · 0.8 ftH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Oyster Rocks

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    81
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 81
    • Gray snapper 79
    • Red drum 79

    1 kt ENEL 7:20 PM · 0.8 ftH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Haulover Point

    Cape · 2.6 mi

    79
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 79
    • Spotted seatrout 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 73

    1 kt ENEL 7:20 PM · 0.8 ftH 12:55 AM · 1.5 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.