The Carolina Beach, 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: Aug 1, 2026, 8:01 AM
On Saturday, August 1, Carolina Beach, NC sees high tide at 10:10 AM (4.0 ft) and 10:24 PM (4.7 ft), low tide at 4:03 AM (0.1 ft) and 3:59 PM (0.2 ft). Winds 5–14 mph from the SE gusting to 23 mph. Air temperatures 77–88°F. The strongest fishing windows line up with the moving water around each tide change, roughly an hour on either side.
Today's Tides · Wilmington Beach (Station 8658559)
| Low tide | 4:03 AM | 0.1 ft |
| High tide | 10:10 AM | 4.0 ft |
| Low tide | 3:59 PM | 0.2 ft |
| High tide | 10:24 PM | 4.7 ft |
Wind
5–14 mph SE
Gusts
23 mph
Air Temp
77–88°F
Tides from NOAA Station 8658559 · wind & temperature from Open-Meteo. Open the live forecast for hourly charts and the 7-day outlook.
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Carolina Beach sits on Pleasure Island at the southern end of Wilmington's barrier island system, bracketed by Masonboro Inlet to the north and Carolina Beach Inlet to the south. These inlets, along with the Intracoastal Waterway and the Cape Fear River mouth, create excellent inshore fishing opportunities for redfish, flounder, spotted seatrout, and sheepshead year-round.
The Carolina Beach State Park marina and surrounding waters are productive for inshore species throughout the year. The Cape Fear River mouth is an exceptional location for large red drum and flounder during fall, when the fish stage at the river confluence before migrating to warmer offshore waters. Speckled trout are abundant on the grass flats of Masonboro Sound through the warm months.
Carolina Beach Inlet provides offshore access for anglers targeting king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, and bottom species on the nearshore ledges. The Carolina Beach Fishing Pier is one of the state's most active, producing year-round catches of bluefish, Spanish mackerel, and pompano. Monitor wind and swell conditions with the live forecast above before any nearshore trip.
Spring: Black drum and sheepshead start on the pilings and rocks as water warms, with redfish spreading through the marsh off Myrtle Grove Sound. Flounder move back inside through Carolina Beach Inlet in April. By May the piers see bluefish, Spanish mackerel and sea mullet, and bottom fishing picks up in Snows Cut.
Summer: Pier fishing peaks with Spanish, kings from the ends, pompano in the wash and flounder pitched around the pilings. The inlet and Snows Cut hold flounder and reds on ledges and current seams. Sheepshead work the Fort Fisher rocks, and offshore runs out of the inlet produce mahi and king mackerel.
Fall: The spot run is a Carolina Beach institution, filling the piers and surf with anglers when the fish push through in October. Mullet schools bring drum, blues and Spanish down the beach. Speckled trout arrive in the Cape Fear River rocks, Snows Cut and the sound creeks, and the surf gives up pompano until water cools hard.
Winter: Trout hold in Snows Cut, the boat basin and deep creek bends, biting slow-worked plastics midday. Redfish school on clear shallow flats in Myrtle Grove Sound and around Zeke's Island, sight-fished on calm days. Sea mullet and black drum bite in the river channel, and pier action drops to whiting and dogfish.
The Carolina Beach Fishing Pier at the north end and Kure Beach Pier just south are the walk-on options, with the Kure pier among the oldest on the Atlantic coast. Carolina Beach Inlet feeds the sound with bait and holds flounder and drum despite its shifting shoals. Snows Cut connects the ICW to the Cape Fear River and fishes well for trout, drum and flounder in its current and rock lines. Federal Point and the Fort Fisher rocks at the island's south tip offer bank access to river, rock and surf fishing, with Zeke's Island basin behind them.