Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Middletown Anchorage

35.48°N · 75.98°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 7 AM · Red snapper

82/100Great
Now
596 PM EDT
Best window
6 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
Score59Good
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward S
Wind13 kn NEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast56% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red snapper 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 snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Middletown Anchorage

Depth
6-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed 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 Middletown Anchorage

Middletown Anchorage is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are spot, Atlantic croaker and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for spot, Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Florida pompano, sheepshead and Spanish mackerel. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

Red snapper
Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Back Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 73
    • Crevalle jack 72

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Lone Tree Creek

    Bay · 4.6 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Crevalle jack 73
    • Spot 73

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Berrys Bay

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Crevalle jack 72
    • Spot 72

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Gibbs Shoal

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    68
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 68
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Atlantic croaker 66

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 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.