Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Tar Hole Inlet

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

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Best score today · 6 PM · Red snapper

83/100Great
Now
5910 AM EST
Best window
6-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Nov 15 · 4 PM

Time4P
Score56Good
Tide0.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.0 kn · toward SSE
Wind1 kn WSWgusts 6 · steady
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast88% cloud
Water72°FPersisted

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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 25 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Tar Hole Inlet

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · 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 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 black sea bass. It is peak season now for little tunny, weakfish, black sea bass and bluefish, and shoulder season for summer flounder, spot, Atlantic croaker and striped bass. Little tunny peak from October through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November.

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.
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

  • Cockrel Creek

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    75
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 75
    • Weakfish 73
    • Red drum 69

    11 kt NNEH 1:32 PM · 2.4 ftL 8:09 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Hatteras Inlet

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    75
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 75
    • Little tunny 74
    • Weakfish 73

    11 kt NNEH 1:32 PM · 2.4 ftL 8:09 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Legged Lump

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    71
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 71
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Bluefish 69

    11 kt NNEH 1:32 PM · 2.4 ftL 8:09 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Shingle Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    70
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 70
    • Red drum 69
    • Weakfish 69

    11 kt NNEH 1:32 PM · 2.4 ftL 8:09 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.