Waterlands

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Red drumPeak 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 · Red drum

71/100Great
Now
638 AM EST
Best window
5-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Nov 13 · 3 PM

Time3P
Score80Great
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.6 kn · toward SSE
Wind4 kn NEgusts 8 · steady
Air temp58°Mild
WeatherOvercast99% cloud
Water73°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Red drum 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 Red drum is best here

Peak season for Red drum · 4 more weeks at peak

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

Red drum in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Tar Hole Inlet

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonRed drum

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 little tunny, weakfish and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, weakfish, bluefish and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for summer flounder, spot, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from October through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

Tackle & technique

Red drum
Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
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.
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

  • Hatteras Inlet

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Weakfish 68

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Cockrel Creek

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    68
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Weakfish 68
    • Red drum 62

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Legged Lump

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Little tunny 67
    • Bluefish 65

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Shingle Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    64
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 64
    • Bluefish 63
    • Black sea bass 62

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 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.