Waterlands

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BluefishPeak season

Cape · North Carolina

Rawls Point

35.57°N · 75.84°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Bluefish

82/100Great
Now
5712 AM EST
Best window
7-11 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 13 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score73Great
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind4 kn SEgusts 12 · steady
Air temp69°Warm
WeatherClear2% cloud
Water66°FPersisted

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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

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

Rawls Point

Depth
1-10 ftFlat bottom
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 Rawls Point

Rawls Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spotted seatrout, weakfish and red drum. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, weakfish, red drum and little tunny, and shoulder season for black drum, striped bass, Atlantic croaker and spot. Spotted seatrout peak from September through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Red drum peak from August 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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Pains Bay

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    70
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 70
    • Weakfish 69
    • Red drum 66

    5 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Long Shoal

    Bar · 2.6 mi

    66
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 66
    • Weakfish 64
    • Red drum 62

    5 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Pains Point

    Cape · 1.5 mi

    65
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 65
    • Weakfish 63
    • Red drum 61

    5 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Pingleton Point

    Cape · 2.5 mi

    65
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 65
    • Weakfish 63
    • Red drum 61

    5 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 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.