UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
WeakfishPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker73
- Spot73
- Florida pompano70
- Spotted seatrout66
- Red drum64
- Weakfish64
- Little tunny62
- Southern flounder61
- Black sea bass59
- Bluefish58
- Black drum56
- Gag grouper55
- Sheepshead55
- Summer flounder55
- Striped bass52
- Red snapper48
- Crevalle jack43
- King mackerel43
- Greater amberjack40
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Gray snapper35
- Gray triggerfish35
- Red grouper35
- Spanish mackerel35
- Cobia33
Best score today · 7 AM · Weakfish
- Now
- 646 PM EST
- Best window
- 7 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High0.7 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pains Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Friday, Nov 6 · 4 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
90Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.5 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 9 kt SWPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
89Water temp: 67°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
90Season: PeakHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NCDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Weakfish is best here
Peak season for Weakfish · 3 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pains Bay
- Depth
- 4-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak 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 Pains Bay
Pains Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 4-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, spotted seatrout, red drum and weakfish, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, black drum and sheepshead. 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
- Long Shoal73
Bar · 2.5 mi
Top: Florida pompanoPeak season- Florida pompano 73
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
6 kt NEL 12:32 AM · 0.4 ftH 6:02 AM · 0.7 ft
- Rawls Point68
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Florida pompano 66
6 kt NEL 12:32 AM · 0.4 ftH 6:02 AM · 0.7 ft
- Pains Point68
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Florida pompano 67
6 kt NEL 12:32 AM · 0.4 ftH 6:02 AM · 0.7 ft
- Pingleton Point68
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Florida pompano 67
6 kt NEL 12:32 AM · 0.4 ftH 6:02 AM · 0.7 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.