Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Thorofare Bay

34.93°N · 76.33°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 1 AM · Red snapper

65/100Great
Now
532 AM EDT
Best window
6-9 AMFlood 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

Saturday, Sep 26 · 10 PM

Time10P
Score59Good
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind8 kn WNWgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.5 ft · 8 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water75°FBias corrected

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 · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Thorofare Bay

Depth
6-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Thorofare Bay

Thorofare Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 6-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and gray snapper, and shoulder season for red snapper, black drum, Spanish mackerel and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Barry Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 64
    • Crevalle jack 63

    13 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • 64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 64
    • Crevalle jack 61

    13 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Hall Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    59
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 59
    • King mackerel 59
    • Gray snapper 58

    13 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Lookout Point

    Cape · 1.8 mi

    59
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 59
    • King mackerel 59
    • Gray snapper 58

    13 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 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.