Waterlands

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Florida pompanoPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Gap Point

35.12°N · 75.98°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 6 PM · Florida pompano

82/100Great
Now
629 AM EST
Best window
6-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score62Good
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward SSW
Wind3 kn NEgusts 10 · steady
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast96% cloud
Water70°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Florida pompano 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 Florida pompano is best here

Peak season for Florida pompano · 4 more weeks at peak

Florida pompano season by week of the year. Peak season for Florida pompano · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Florida pompano in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Gap Point

Depth
2-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonFlorida pompano

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 Gap Point

Gap Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-5 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, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, black sea bass, bluefish and weakfish, and shoulder season for striped bass, summer flounder, Atlantic croaker and spot. Little tunny peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

Tackle & technique

Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Horsepen Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Black sea bass 65
    • Bluefish 65

    13 kt NEH 1:43 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Teaches Hole Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    72
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 72
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Spotted seatrout 68

    13 kt NEH 1:43 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Old Slough

    Gut · 1.3 mi

    72
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 72
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Red drum 69

    13 kt NEH 1:43 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:05 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Northern Pond

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    69
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 69
    • Weakfish 69
    • Florida pompano 66

    13 kt NEH 1:43 PM · 1.2 ftL 9:05 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.