Map
Topsail Beach

Topsail Sound Flats

ICW mile 267

NOAA ENC chart tiles Β· planning aid, not for navigation

🎣 FishingπŸ– Sandbar
✈ Brief this trip–

Right now at this spot

oldest reading 37 min ago
Sporty

Small boats will get beat up. Pick your heading and slow down.

The sea state in that call was measured 13.7 nm away at NDBC 41110 β€” that is open water, not this basin.

What that call is built on
  • Β· Observed wind N 7 kt gusting 11 β€” NDBC JMPN7 Β· Wrightsville Beach
  • Β· Observed seas 2.6 ft β€” NDBC 41110 Β· Masonboro Inlet
Wind now
N 7 kt
JMPN7, 11.7 nm off Β· 37 min ago
Gusting
11 kt
JMPN7, 11.7 nm off Β· 37 min ago
Seas now
2.6 ft
13s period Β· 41110, 13.7 nm off Β· 37 min ago
Water and airWater 71Β°FAir 69Β°F
NDBC JMPN7 Β· Wrightsville Beach (11.7 nm) Β· NDBC 41110 Β· Masonboro Inlet (13.7 nm) Β· NOAA 8657813 Hampstead Β· MLLW
What a local would tell you

Skinny water grass flats behind the island. Redfish on a rising tide, and you can beach a shallow boat on the bars at low. Do not take a deep-draft boat off the channel here.

The tide today

NOAA has not returned a prediction for station 8657813 right now, so there is no curve to draw. Nothing here is worth guessing at β€” check the station directly.
Sand & tide

When is the sand out?

Sand and grass flat
No prediction

NOAA returned no tide prediction for today, so there is no clock to run. Nothing here is guessed in its place.

12a6anoon6p12a
dry β€” under 1.0 ftshin deep β€” under 2.0 ftcoveredfaded = after dark

Beaching it right now
No tide curve

NOAA has no prediction covering this moment, so we cannot tell you which way the water is going. Do not nose onto sand on a guess.


About this spot

Skinny water behind the island. The knowledge line already says it β€” do not take a deep-draft boat off the channel here, whatever the clock below says.

Rule of thumb, not a survey

Walkable below about 2.0 ft of tide, properly dry below about 1.0 ft β€” the same rule of thumb we apply to every bar on this coast, because none of them have been surveyed.

This is a rule of thumb, not a survey. Nobody has measured the height of this sand to a datum, so the times are the tide curve run against a threshold we chose β€” treat them as give or take three quarters of an hour, and tell us if we're wrong.

Tide curve: NOAA 8657813 Hampstead, six-minute predictions, MLLW. Height of the sand: Corridor rule of thumb for the numbers. The shipped knowledge line asserts the tide behaviour directly: "you can beach a shallow boat on the bars at low".

What’s biting here

All species
Red drumOpenPeak

Peak month, and 71Β°F is right in their band.

Min 18" total length Β· 1 per person per day

Spotted seatroutOpenPeak

Peak month, and 71Β°F is right in their band.

Min 14" total length Β· 3 per person per day

FlounderClosedPeak

Peak month, and 71Β°F is right in their band.

Unlawful to possess right now.

Ranked on the month and the measured water temperature. Limits are North Carolina’s current rules β€” confirm with DMF before you keep anything.

Depth

Nobody has reported a depth here. This spot is tide-sensitive, so sound your way in and post what you read. We timestamp it and correct it to the datum automatically, so the next boat gets a number they can actually use.

Getting there

from Wrightsville Beach
Distance
14.9 nm
by the waterway
Run time
50 min
arrive about 4:56 PM
Fuel, round trip
15.6 gal
10% of your 150 gal
Home before dark
41m
to spare, leaving now, out and back
On the ICWstatute mile 267
Worked out for
a typical 26 ft centre console Β· 2 ft draft Β· 26 kt cruise Β· 14 gph
Distance from ICW mile markers where both ends have one, winding-padded straight line otherwise. Time and fuel from your boat profile at 26 kt.
Worked out for a typical 26 ft centre console β€” we do not know yours yet. Add your boat and these become your numbers.Add your boat

What else is out here

straight line, true bearing
βš“MarinaBush Marina0.2 nmNEβ›½Fuel Β· Pump outHarbour Village Marina3.7 nmWπŸ›»RampSurf City Public Ramp5.9 nmNE🍀Dock & dineBluewater Waterfront Grill12.3 nmSWπŸ›₯Public dockRiverwalk Public Docks17.5 nmWSW
Nearest artificial reefAR-360 Topsail Reef1.8 nmESE
44 ft site average Β· Concrete, Reef Ball
NCDMF site reference position, not a surveyed obstruction. Material stands well above the site average β€” never steer over a reef on these numbers.
Distances computed from the shipped place dataset and NCDMF reef records. Great-circle, not a route β€” check that the water actually connects.

Live from the water

No reports here yet. If you run this spot, post what you see β€” fuel price, depth, how busy it is. Depths get corrected for the tide automatically, so the number you leave is worth something to the next boat.
Sign in to add a report. Depths you post get corrected for the tide automatically.

Know before you go

DraftShallow boats only off channel
Best tideRising, first two hours
SpeciesRed drum, speckled trout
Skinny waterRedfishShallow draft

Comments

Sign in to leave a comment.
No comments yet. Be the first to say something useful about this spot.
✈ Brief this tripMap

Tides unavailable (NOAA 403) Β· Tide curve unavailable (NOAA 403)

Conditions, tides and alerts are live from NOAA CO-OPS, the National Weather Service and NDBC. Distance, run time, fuel and clearance are calculated from your boat profile. Member depth reports are corrected to the datum at the moment they are filed. Planning aid only β€” not for navigation. Carry current charts.