Waterlands

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BluefishPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Old Channel Point

34.82°N · 76.37°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 4 PM · Little tunny

75/100Great
Now
659 PM EST
Best window
9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

Time9PNOW
Score65Great
Tide0.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward WNW
Wind10 kn SEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.3 ft · 7 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy63% cloud
Water67°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Bluefish 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 Bluefish is best here

Peak season for Bluefish · 8 more weeks at peak

Bluefish season by week of the year. Peak season for Bluefish · 8 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Bluefish in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Old Channel Point

Depth
1-4 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonBluefish

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 Old Channel Point

Old Channel Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are bluefish, little tunny and striped bass. It is peak season now for bluefish, little tunny, black sea bass and red drum, and shoulder season for striped bass, Atlantic croaker, red snapper and spot. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December. Little tunny peak from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.
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.
Striped bass
Striped bass feed where moving tide pushes bait past structure: inlets, points, jetties, bridge pilings and rips in the surf, usually in 2 to 40 feet of water. Fish dawn, dusk and night hardest, casting plugs, bucktails and soft plastics or drifting live bunker and eels, and chunk bait on the bottom in current. In midsummer the larger fish drop deeper or feed mostly after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cedar Inlet

    Channel · 0.4 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Bluefish 69
    • Black sea bass 68

    10 kt SEL 2:15 AM · 0.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Old Channel

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    72
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 72
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Weakfish 68

    10 kt SEL 2:15 AM · 0.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Gutter Creek

    Gut · 1.0 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Black sea bass 69
    • Weakfish 68

    10 kt SEL 2:15 AM · 0.1 ftH 8:08 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Yaupon Hammock Gut

    Bay · 0.8 mi

    68
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 68
    • Bluefish 66
    • Weakfish 65

    10 kt SEL 12:59 AM · 0.3 ftH 6:58 AM · 1.4 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.