Waterlands

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SheepsheadShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Stumpy Point Bay

35.69°N · 75.76°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 6 AM · Sheepshead

79/100Great
Now
628 PM EST
Best window
8-9 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score69Great
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward ENE
Wind6 kn Egusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 5 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherClear2% cloud
Water64°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Sheepshead 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 Sheepshead is best here

Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder

Sheepshead season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Sheepshead · 12 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Sheepshead in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Stumpy Point Bay

Depth
3-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSheepshead

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 Stumpy Point Bay

Stumpy Point Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are weakfish, spotted seatrout and red drum. It is peak season now for weakfish, spotted seatrout, red drum and southern flounder, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, black drum and sheepshead. Weakfish peak from October through November. Spotted seatrout peak from September through November. Red drum peak from August through November.

Tackle & technique

Sheepshead
Sheepshead graze barnacles and crabs off pilings, jetty rocks, bridge supports, oyster bars and nearshore reefs, from a few feet deep out to about 50 feet. Drop a fiddler crab, sand flea or piece of shrimp on a small, strong hook straight down next to the structure with just enough weight to hold bottom. The bite is a light tap, so keep the line tight and set the hook fast.
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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Sandy Bay

    Bay · 5.3 mi

    74
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 74
    • Red drum 71
    • Spot 71

    8 kt NEL 9:48 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:02 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Parched Corn Bay

    Bay · 6.9 mi

    74
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 74
    • Spotted seatrout 72
    • Red drum 71

    8 kt NEL 10:46 PM · 0.4 ftH 4:18 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Drain Point

    Cape · 1.2 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Weakfish 69
    • Black sea bass 67

    8 kt NEL 9:48 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:02 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Sandy Point

    Cape · 4.9 mi

    72
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 72
    • Weakfish 69
    • Black sea bass 68

    8 kt NEL 9:48 PM · 0.3 ftH 3:02 AM · 0.5 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.