Waterlands

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Gray snapperPeak season

Bay · North Carolina

Harbor Creek

35.36°N · 76.13°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 12 AM · Gray snapper

73/100Great
Now
523 AM EDT
Best window
5 AM-1 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Sep 25 · 11 PM

Time11P
Score54Good
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind10 kn NNWgusts 17
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp65°Mild
WeatherOvercast97% cloud
Water75°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Gray snapper 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 Gray snapper is best here

Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak

Gray snapper season by week of the year. Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray snapper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Harbor Creek

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonGray snapper

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 Harbor Creek

Harbor Creek is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 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 southern flounder, and shoulder season for black drum, red snapper, Florida pompano and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • East Bluff Bay

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Spot 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 60

    10 kt NNEH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Juniper Creek

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    57
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56
    • Spot 56

    13 kt NNEH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Drum Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    56
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 56
    • Atlantic croaker 54
    • Spot 54

    10 kt NNEH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.3 ft

  • North Bluff Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    51
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 51
    • Spot 51
    • King mackerel 50

    13 kt NNEH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ftL 2:18 PM · 0.3 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.