Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Horsepen Point

35.12°N · 75.97°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 AM · Weakfish

72/100Great
Now
316 PM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.1 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
Score31Fair
Tide1.1 ftHigh
CurrentFlood0.5 kn · toward NE
Wind18 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 4 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast84% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

Weakfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Weakfish in North Carolina

Spot profile

Horsepen Point

Depth
2-7 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Horsepen Point

Horsepen Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 2-7 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, king mackerel and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, little tunny, red snapper and black sea bass. 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

Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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 · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Spot 64
    • Florida pompano 56

    18 kt NEL 12:39 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Old Slough

    Gut · 1.3 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Spot 64
    • Florida pompano 56

    18 kt NEL 12:39 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Northern Pond

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 63
    • Florida pompano 60

    18 kt NEL 12:39 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:02 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Gap Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    58
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 58
    • Spot 58
    • Florida pompano 56

    18 kt NEL 12:39 AM · 0.5 ftH 6:02 AM · 1.0 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.