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October on this coast

Ranked by what is normally around now and whether the water is the temperature they want. The size and bag limits beside each one are North Carolina's current rules.

SouthportWilmingtonWrightsville BeachSurf CitySwansboroBeaufort
Water temperature
78°F

Full summer. Spanish and kings are in, and the sounds fish best at first light.

Measured at NDBC 41110 · Masonboro Inlet · 34 min ago
EverythingInshoreInletsStructureSurf & piersNearshoreOffshore
Confirm before you keep anything.

These limits are copied from the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries table effective July 1, 2026, last checked August 22, 2026. Several species are governed by proclamations that change mid-season, and this app is not the authority. Check the current DMF table or call 252-515-5500.

Worth going for right now

Red drum

Redfish, puppy drum, spottail
InshoreInletsSurf & piersStructure
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
18" total length to 27" total length
Limit
1 per person per day

A slot: under 18" or over 27" goes back. Cannot be gigged, speared or gaffed.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

The one fish you can catch here every month of the year. Autumn is when the big schools push through the inlets and along the beach.

Cut bait on the bottomSoft plasticsTopwater at dawnLive mullet
Normally 55–88°FGear list →

Spotted seatrout

Speckled trout, specks
InshoreInletsStructure
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
14" total length to 20" total length
Limit
3 per person per day

A slot, but one fish over 26" is allowed per person per day.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

Gets good as the water cools and stays good into winter. A hard freeze can kill them off in the creeks and set the fishery back a couple of seasons.

Soft plastics on a jigheadLive shrimp under a corkTopwater at first light
Normally 50–82°FGear list →

Flounder

Southern flounder, doormat
InshoreInletsStructure
ClosedPeak now
Unlawful to possess right now.
Size
15" total length (during the open window)
Limit
1 per person per day (during the open window)
Season
Sept 1 at 12:01am to Sept 14 at 11:59pm, 2026

Closed and unlawful to possess outside that fourteen-day window. Applies to Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters; the Wildlife Resources Commission sets separate rules inland.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

You will catch them all summer. You may only keep them for two weeks in September. Everything else goes back in the water.

Live mud minnows or finger mulletGulp on a jigheadDrifting the inlet
Normally 60–80°FGear list →

Black drum

InshoreStructureInlets
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
14" total length to 25" total length
Limit
10 per person per day

One fish over 25" is allowed per person per day.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

Reliable when nothing else is going. Sits tight to structure and eats shrimp on the bottom.

Fresh shrimp on the bottomCrabAround pilings and bridges
Normally 50–85°FGear list →

Sheepshead

Convict fish
StructureInlets
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
14" total length
Limit
5 per person per day

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

Bites like a thief. You set the hook when you think they are about to bite, not when you feel it. Bridge pilings, jetties, anything crusted with barnacles.

Fiddler crabsSand fleasScraping barnacles off pilings to draw them in
Normally 62–84°FGear list →

Bluefish

Blues, choppers
InletsSurf & piersNearshore
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Limit
3 per person per day on a private boat; 5 per person per day on a for-hire vessel

The creel is set by proclamation and changed in January 2026 — check before you go.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

Wire leader or you lose everything. When they blitz on the beach you can catch one on every cast for twenty minutes and then they are gone.

Casting metalTrolling small spoonsCut bait in the surf
Normally 58–84°FGear list →

King mackerel

Kings, smokers
NearshoreOffshore
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
24" fork length
Limit
3 per person per day

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

The nearshore reefs in Onslow Bay hold them through late summer and autumn. A big one is usually caught close in, not far out.

Slow-trolling live menhaden on stinger rigsDead bait on a downriggerAround nearshore reefs and wrecks
Normally 68–86°FGear list →

Black sea bass

NearshoreOffshore
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
13" total length
Limit
7 per person per day (south of Cape Hatteras)

North of Cape Hatteras the limit is 15 per day and the season runs May 1 to Dec 31.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

The dependable bottom fish over the artificial reefs. Bring a descending device — it is required.

Squid on a two-hook bottom rigJigs over live bottom and the artificial reefs
Normally 55–80°FGear list →

Snapper and grouper

Bottom fish
OffshoreNearshore
Set by proclamationPeak now
Rules change through the season — check before you go.

The whole snapper-grouper complex runs on proclamations and federal seasons that open and close through the year. Red snapper, Nassau, Goliath, Warsaw grouper and speckled hind are prohibited outright. Check the current proclamation for everything else.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

The most regulated fishing you will do here, and the rules genuinely change mid-season. A descending device and a dehooking tool are legally required.

Bottom rigs over live bottom and ledgesVertical jigging
Normally 62–84°FGear list →

Wahoo

Offshore
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Limit
2 per person per day

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

Fastest thing you will hook. Wire, or it bites straight through.

High-speed trollingWire leader and heavy dragAlong the break
Normally 70–86°F

Shrimp

Inshore
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Limit
48 quarts heads-on or 30 quarts heads-off per person per day, cast net only

Open areas are set by proclamation and vary. Recreational Commercial Gear Licence holders get double.

Peak month, and 78°F is right in their band.

Late summer into autumn is when they are big enough to bother with.

Cast net over a baited holeUnder lights at night
Normally 70–88°F

Hard clams

Inshore
OpenPeak now
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
1" thick
Limit
100 per person per day, 200 per vessel per day

Only from waters open to shellfishing. Closures for rainfall and pollution change constantly — check the DMF shellfish map on the day.

One of the best months of the year for them here.

Check the closure map before you pick up a single clam. Areas close after heavy rain and the map is the only thing that tells you.

Raking the flats at low waterTreading barefoot

Spanish mackerel

Spanish
NearshoreInletsSurf & piers
Open
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
12" fork length
Limit
15 per person per day

Around now, and 78°F suits them.

Show up when the water crosses about 68°F and leave when it drops back through it. Look for birds working just off the beach — often within sight of the inlet.

Trolling Clark spoons behind planersCasting metal into breaking fishSmall live baits
Normally 68–86°FGear list →

Yellowfin tuna

Offshore
Federal rules
Federal permit required, and federal limits apply.
Size
27" curved fork length
Limit
3 per person per day

A federal HMS permit is required for the vessel. Some tuna must be reported.

Around now, and 78°F suits them.

A long run from these inlets. Watch the fuel maths and the weather window, not just the fish reports.

Trolling the breakChunkingLong runs to the Gulf Stream
Normally 68–82°F

Blue crab

Inshore
Open
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
5" carapace width
Limit
50 per person per day, 100 per vessel per day

Unlawful to possess immature females. Dark sponge crabs illegal April 1-30. Closed Jan 1-31 north of Highway 58 and Mar 1-15 south of it.

Around now, and 78°F suits them.

The best thing you can do with a dock and a kid. Half a chicken and a net.

Chicken necks on a stringTrapsDip net off a dock
Normally 65–88°F

Oysters

Inshore
Closed
Unlawful to possess right now.
Season
Normally Oct 15 to Mar 31, opened by proclamation

Currently unlawful to possess. The season is opened by proclamation, not automatically by date.

Normally around in October.

The old rule about months with an R is roughly right and legally meaningless — what matters is whether DMF has opened the season and whether the bed is in open water.

Hand picking at low waterCulling to size on the spot

Around, but not their season

Shown so you know what you are holding when one turns up anyway — and what the rules are for it.

Weakfish

Gray trout
InshoreInletsNearshore
Open
You may keep them within the limits below.
Size
12" total length
Limit
1 per person per day

A one-fish limit — the stock is in poor shape.

Around in October, but 78°F is above the 75°F band they normally hold in.

Nothing like the numbers the old-timers describe. Treat a keeper as a bonus, not a target.

JiggingSoft plastics deepAround the inlets on moving water
Normally 52–75°F

Tarpon

Silver king
InshoreInletsNearshore
Release only
Unlawful to possess at any time.

Unlawful to possess. Catch and release only.

Not normally around in October. They turn up again around June.

They are here in high summer and most people never know it. Keep them in the water for photographs — a hundred-pound fish held up by the jaw usually dies.

Live menhadenCut bait on the bottom in the soundsSight fishing rolling fish
Normally 75–90°F

Cobia

Ling, lemonfish
NearshoreInlets
Set by proclamation
Rules change through the season — check before you go.

Size, bag and season are set by proclamation each year and change. Check the current cobia proclamation before you go.

Not normally around in October. They turn up again around May.

A May and June fishery here. They come up the beach with the warming water and cruise on the surface — somebody stands on the tower and looks.

Sight casting to fish on the surfaceLive eels or menhadenBucktails
Normally 68–84°F

Mahi-mahi

Dolphin, dorado
Offshore
Open
You may keep them within the limits below.
Limit
10 per person per day, or 54 per boat per trip, whichever is less

Not normally around in October. They turn up again around April.

Find the weed line, the temperature break or anything floating and you find them. Keep one hooked in the water beside the boat and the rest of the school stays with you.

Trolling ballyhoo along the breakWorking weed lines and floating debrisCasting to fish under a board
Normally 72–84°FGear list →

Marlin and sailfish

Billfish
Offshore
Federal rules
Federal permit required, and federal limits apply.
Size
Blue marlin 99" LJFL, white marlin 66" LJFL, sailfish 63" LJFL
Limit
One marlin (blue or white) per vessel per trip; sailfish 1 per person per day

A federal HMS permit is required and landings must be reported.

Not normally around in October. They turn up again around May.

Almost everybody releases them. The size limits exist so that keeping one is a deliberate act.

Trolling naked or skirted ballyhooDredges and teasers
Normally 74–86°F
Size and bag limits — N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, effective 2026-07-01. Water temperature — NDBC buoy observation. Seasons and temperature bands are local rule of thumb, not regulation.

A licence is required to fish in coastal waters. Fish do not read calendars — the months and temperatures here are what normally happens on this stretch, not a promise. If you catch something that is not on this list, put it back until you know what it is and what the rule for it says.