Waterlands

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Spotted seatroutPeak season

Bar · North Carolina

Flounder Rock

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

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Spotted seatrout

78/100Great
Now
716 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

Sunday, Sep 27 · 1 PM

Time1P
Score63Good
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward E
Wind8 kn NNWgusts 14 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water82°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spotted seatrout 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 Spotted seatrout is best here

Peak season for Spotted seatrout · 10 more weeks at peak

Spotted seatrout season by week of the year. Peak season for Spotted seatrout · 10 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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  • This week

Spotted seatrout in North Carolina

Spot profile

Flounder Rock

Depth
3-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonSpotted seatrout

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

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.
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.