Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Gap Point

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

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Best score today · 6 PM · Little tunny

81/100Great
Now
501 PM EDT
Best window
5-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.2 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 PM · now

Time1PNOW
Score50Good
Tide1.2 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.7 kn · toward NE
Wind4 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherClear14% cloud
Water79°FObserved

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

Gap Point

Depth
2-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 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 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, little tunny, black drum and cobia. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October 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.
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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Teaches Hole Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 76
    • Atlantic tarpon 64

    4 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:21 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Old Slough

    Gut · 1.3 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 76
    • Red drum 64

    4 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:21 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Northern Pond

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Spot 75
    • Florida pompano 64

    4 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:21 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Horsepen Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    70
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 70
    • Spot 70
    • Florida pompano 60

    4 kt EL 8:11 PM · 0.7 ftH 12:21 AM · 0.9 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.