Waterlands

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Red drumPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Gibbs Point

35.36°N · 75.51°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 8 AM · Red drum

81/100Great
Now
706 PM EST
Best window
7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score70Great
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward ENE
Wind10 kn SEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.7 ft · 6 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherClear4% cloud
Water69°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 3 more weeks at peak

Red drum season by week of the year. Peak season for Red drum · 3 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red drum in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Gibbs Point

Depth
2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 Gibbs Point

Gibbs Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are red drum, Florida pompano and little tunny. It is peak season now for red drum, Florida pompano, little tunny and black sea bass, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, striped bass and summer flounder. Red drum peak from August through November. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November. Little tunny peak from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Canadian Hole

    Bay · 5.1 mi

    76
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 76
    • Weakfish 69
    • Bluefish 68

    10 kt SEL 9:44 PM · 0.3 ftH 4:04 AM · 3.5 ft

  • Phipps Cove

    Bay · 5.0 mi

    71
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 71
    • Florida pompano 69
    • Atlantic croaker 66

    9 kt SEL 1:40 AM · 0.1 ftH 7:03 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Mill Creek

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    69
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 69
    • Red drum 68
    • Atlantic croaker 65

    10 kt SEL 1:40 AM · 0.1 ftH 7:03 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Otter Pond Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    69
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 69
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Little tunny 63

    10 kt SEL 1:40 AM · 0.1 ftH 7:03 AM · 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.