Waterlands

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Little tunnyShoulder season

Gut · North Carolina

Gutter Creek

34.82°N · 76.36°W · Gut · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 1 AM · Little tunny

64/100Good
Now
254 AM EDT
Best window
4-7 AMMoving water
Tide now
Ebbing0.2 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 AM · now

Time4ANOW
Score25Fair
Tide0.2 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind20 kn NEgusts 26 · building
Sea stateModerate3.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy99% chance of rain
Water80°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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

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

Gutter Creek

Depth
1-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Gutter Creek

Gutter Creek is a gut in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, red drum and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, black sea bass, red snapper and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. 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.
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

  • Yaupon Hammock Gut

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    51
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 51
    • Spot 51
    • Crevalle jack 48

    20 kt NEH 8:21 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:03 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Cedar Inlet

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    49
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 49
    • Crevalle jack 46
    • Red drum 46

    20 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Old Channel

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    49
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 49
    • Red drum 46
    • Spot 46

    20 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Old Channel Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    40
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 40
    • Spot 40
    • King mackerel 39

    20 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 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.