The Cape Hatteras, NC marine forecast covers live wind speed and gusts, tide predictions, wave conditions, and major and minor solunar feeding times, updated continuously from NOAA and Open-Meteo. The strongest fishing windows usually line up with the moving tide and the solunar periods shown below — check current conditions before you head out.
By Steve Wilson, lifelong angler & founder of My Marine Forecast
Last updated: Sep 15, 2026, 8:00 AM
On Tuesday, September 15, Cape Hatteras, NC sees high tide at 12:07 AM (0.8 ft) and 12:18 PM (0.9 ft), low tide at 6:36 AM (0.6 ft) and 7:02 PM (0.6 ft). Winds 12–15 mph from the N gusting to 24 mph. Air temperatures 72–79°F. Current water temperature is about 83°F. The strongest fishing windows line up with the moving water around each tide change, roughly an hour on either side.
Today's Tides · Station 8654467
| High tide | 12:07 AM | 0.8 ft |
| Low tide | 6:36 AM | 0.6 ft |
| High tide | 12:18 PM | 0.9 ft |
| Low tide | 7:02 PM | 0.6 ft |
Wind
12–15 mph N
Gusts
24 mph
Air Temp
72–79°F
Water Temp
83°F
Tides from NOAA Station 8654467 · wind & temperature from Open-Meteo. Open the live forecast for hourly charts and the 7-day outlook.
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Tide data sourced from NOAA Station 8654467
Cape Hatteras is where the warm Gulf Stream and the cold Labrador Current collide, and that collision creates one of the most productive fishing environments on the East Coast. The Fall surf fishing for red drum here is legendary — October and November bring large channel bass to the beach at the Point, and catches exceeding 40 inches are common. Serious surf anglers plan their whole year around this run.
The Point at Hatteras Village is ground zero for the Fall drum run. The outer bars and troughs hold fish on the right combination of surf, tide, and wind. Cut mullet, fresh menhaden, or chunk bluefish on a fish-finder rig is the standard approach. Pompano and bluefish run the surf through most of the year, and the fishing rarely goes completely quiet.
Offshore, the Gulf Stream is accessible from Oregon Inlet or Hatteras Inlet. Blue marlin, yellowfin tuna, and mahi-mahi are Summer and Fall targets. Pamlico Sound on the back side of the barrier islands holds flounder, speckled trout, and occasional red drum in calmer water.
The Point is exposed to all directions and conditions deteriorate quickly. The tide and current at Hatteras are influenced by both the Sound and the ocean, creating complex water movement. Check wind, swell, and tide together before making the drive out to the Point.
Spring: Big red drum arrive at Cape Point in April and May, with heavers soaking bait in the sloughs at dusk for citation fish. Bluefish blitz the beaches in between, sea mullet fill the calmer troughs, and by May cobia show off the beaches and inlet, one of the mid-Atlantic's best runs.
Summer: Spanish mackerel and bluefish work the bar at Cape Point most mornings, while pompano and sea mullet feed in the wash along the villages. Sheepshead and sand perch hold near the inlet structure, and offshore boats out of Hatteras Inlet reach the Gulf Stream for billfish, tuna and dolphin.
Fall: Hatteras sits at the fall crossroads of the Atlantic migration. The famous old drum run peaks in September and October at Cape Point and the inlet bars, with false albacore, speckled trout, big blues and puppy drum stacking along the beaches as mullet pour south ahead of the fronts.
Winter: Puppy drum and speckled trout linger in the surf and sloughs deep into winter, and in colder years striped bass push down to the beaches north of the cape, the southern edge of their winter range. Offshore, Hatteras Inlet boats target bluefin tuna, one of the few winter fisheries of its kind.
Cape Point at Buxton is the most famous stretch of surf on the East Coast, where the Labrador Current and Gulf Stream collide over Diamond Shoals and drum, blues and albacore feed within casting range. Hatteras Inlet at the island's south end funnels bait and gamefish between sound and ocean. The Avon Fishing Pier up the beach is known for giant red drum in the fall, and the Pamlico Sound side offers trout, drum and flounder in the sloughs behind the villages.