Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Phipps Cove

35.43°N · 75.49°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 7 AM · Red snapper

79/100Great
Now
573 PM EDT
Best window
3 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score57Good
Tide0.2 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward E
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 9 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 7 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherClear1% cloud
Water82°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

Phipps Cove

Depth
2-3 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 Phipps Cove

Phipps Cove is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for black drum, gray triggerfish, black sea bass and Florida pompano. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September 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.
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

  • Mill Creek

    Bay · 4.8 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 72
    • Crevalle jack 71

    6 kt ESEH 7:53 PM · 0.5 ftL 3:11 AM · 0.2 ft

  • No Ache Bay

    Bay · 5.6 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Spot 69
    • Red drum 67

    5 kt ESEH 7:54 PM · 0.8 ftL 2:32 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Otter Pond Point

    Cape · 6.6 mi

    71
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 70
    • Summer flounder 69

    6 kt ESEH 7:53 PM · 0.5 ftL 3:11 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Gibbs Point

    Cape · 5.0 mi

    70
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 70
    • Atlantic croaker 69

    6 kt ESEH 7:53 PM · 0.5 ftL 3:11 AM · 0.2 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.