Waterlands

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WeakfishPeak season

Bay · North Carolina

Tar Hole Inlet

35.18°N · 75.80°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 5 PM · Weakfish

72/100Great
Now
636 PM EST
Best window
6-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Nov 5 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score30Fair
Tide0.6 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.6 kn · toward SSE
Wind11 kn Sgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateRough4.6 ft · 8 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water70°FBias corrected

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Weakfish is best here

Peak season for Weakfish · 4 more weeks at peak

Weakfish season by week of the year. Peak season for Weakfish · 4 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Weakfish in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Tar Hole Inlet

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · 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 Tar Hole Inlet

Tar Hole Inlet is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are bluefish, little tunny and weakfish. It is peak season now for bluefish, little tunny, weakfish and red drum, and shoulder season for summer flounder, striped bass, king mackerel and crevalle jack. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December. Little tunny peak from October through November. Weakfish peak 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.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hatteras Inlet

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    68
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 68
    • Little tunny 68
    • Weakfish 64

    18 kt NEL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:00 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Legged Lump

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    66
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 66
    • Little tunny 64
    • Florida pompano 56

    18 kt NEL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:00 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Shingle Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    65
    Top: BluefishPeak season
    • Bluefish 65
    • Red drum 61
    • Weakfish 61

    18 kt NEL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:00 AM · 1.9 ft

  • Cockrel Creek

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    64
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 64
    • Red drum 61
    • Bluefish 59

    18 kt NEL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:00 AM · 1.9 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.