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Outer Banks Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The Outer Banks: barrier-island surf, inlet and pier fishing, much of it inside Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Next tide
High 6:36 PM
Air / High
68 / 69 F
Wind
NE 15 mph

Sources: NOAA tides 8652587, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Outer Banks lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NE around 15 mph, steady pressure near 1023 hPa and a high of 69. Tides: high 6:16 AM and 6:36 PM, low 12:06 AM and 12:49 PM: the moving water either side of each change is when this place feeds. Water sits around 78 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:04 PM-12:04 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Redfish (red drum)Excellent

Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

Tomorrow: Similar at 67 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

North Carolina requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $32.00 for residents, and salt water needs its own licence here. What a North Carolina licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing redfish (red drum) here? Check the size and bag limits with NCWRC before you keep anything. The season dates for North Carolina, read off the agency, are on the North Carolina seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

Tides

NOAA station 8652587 (Oregon Inlet Marina). Fish the moving water either side of each change.

Fri
LOW12:06 AM0.4 ft
HIGH6:16 AM1.2 ft
LOW12:49 PM0.4 ft
HIGH6:36 PM1.1 ft
Sat
LOW12:46 AM0.4 ft
HIGH6:58 AM1.3 ft
LOW1:41 PM0.3 ft
HIGH7:19 PM1.1 ft

Nags Head tide chart: the week and the month β†’

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp68 F
High / Low69 / 56 F
WindNE 15-20 mph
Pressure1022.9 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain31% cloud, 5%
Sunrise / Sunset07:16 / 18:16
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~78 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Outer Banks this week

The best day on Outer Banks this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:36 AM-11:36 AM and 10:04 PM-12:04 AM
Minor period
3:58 AM-4:58 AM
Sun
07:16 to 18:16
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 21 mph
Rain chance
5%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Outer Banks: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Redfish (red drum) illustration

Redfish (red drum)

Best: late-summer and fall bull run; inshore all year

Red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), called redfish across the South, is a bronze inshore drum with a black spot near the tail, fished on grass flats, oyster bars, marsh creeks and beaches from the Chesapeake around Florida to Texas. Spring and early summer put redfish on grass flats, shorelines and oyster bars; on the Gulf, fish below spawning age stay inside the bays (TPWD). Sight-cast to tailing and cruising fish or drift live shrimp under a popping cork.

When to come: the Outer Banks calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Redfish (red drum)
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 78 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~78 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Outer Banks today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 66 F, wind to 16 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 64 F, wind to 21 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. The wind owns today. 25 mph gusts make boat control the real battle. Redfish (red drum) led the card at excellent. High of 67 F, wind to 25 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

North Carolina requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

North Carolina Coastal Recreational Fishing License for anglers 16 and older in coastal and joint waters (NCDMF). Red drum: 18-27 inches total length, 1 per day; it is unlawful to possess one over 27 inches or to gig, spear or gaff red drum (NCDMF recreational size and bag limits, effective Sept. 2, 2026).

Access

Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, the Bonner Bridge Pier and the Avon Fishing Pier inside Cape Hatteras National Seashore; ORV permit from the Park Service for beach driving, with the current ramp status at go.nps.gov/beachaccess.

About this water

The barrier islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks, mainly in Dare County, with Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Tides come from NOAA station 8652587 at Oregon Inlet Marina.

Fishing Outer Banks: the full guide

The seashore

Cape Hatteras National Seashore covers more than 70 miles of Atlantic coast, and the Park Service says fish can be taken from the surf, piers and freshwater ponds as well as by boat in the inlets, the sound and offshore. It calls spring and fall the best seasons and says midsummer action is best offshore.

Piers and Oregon Inlet

The Park Service names the Bonner Bridge Pier on the south side of Oregon Inlet, open for fishing 24 hours a day, and the Avon Fishing Pier, which it describes as world famous for record catches, especially giant red drum. The park lessee at Oregon Inlet Fishing Center runs the charter fleet and sells bait, tackle and printed copies of the state rules.

Driving on the beach

Driving an off-road vehicle on the seashore's beaches requires a National Park Service permit. Ramps lead onto the ocean and sound beaches, but sections close during bird and sea turtle breeding seasons, and the park says the signs in the field are the official status of any beach.

Common questions

What is the red drum limit in North Carolina?

One per day between 18 and 27 inches total length; fish over 27 inches cannot be kept (NCDMF, effective Sept. 2, 2026).

Do I need a permit to drive on the beach?

Yes. The National Park Service requires an ORV permit for off-road driving in Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and closures for nesting birds and turtles change through the season.

Do I need a fishing license on the piers?

Anglers 16 and older need a Coastal Recreational Fishing License; the Park Service notes that the license is included with admission at the Avon Fishing Pier.

Is fishing good at Outer Banks right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Pamlico Sound37 miCape Hatteras40 miVirginia Beach76 miMorehead City99 miYork River111 miTar River111 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Tide predictions
NOAA CO-OPS 8652587 β€” Oregon Inlet Marina
Harmonic predictions, datum MLLW, local time. 12 high and low events returned for today and the next two days. A prediction, not a measured water level: wind and surge move the real thing.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 35.7950, -75.5480 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.