Holden Beach Tide Chart

Holden Beach is the family-quiet barrier island between Lockwoods Folly and Shallotte Inlet — no boardwalk, no high-rises, just a long straight beach that fishes better than it looks.

What runs when

• Red drum: April-May and September-October; the fall run along the beach is the local highlight.
• Flounder: summer, around inlet structure and the deeper sloughs on the east end.
• Spanish mackerel: July-September, surf-cast range on calm mornings, thick around the inlets.
• Pompano: spring and fall in the first trough, sand fleas off the beach.

Where to cast

The east end toward Lockwoods Folly on an outgoing for drum; the surf anywhere the beach cuts a deeper slough on the rise; the small pier mid-island for Spanish and blues.

Tide timing here

Both inlets push hard current — fish the outgoing at the inlet mouths for drum, and the rising tide in the surf troughs for pompano and Spanish. This page’s fishing window (the two hours before high) is built for exactly the second pattern; check today’s curve for the inlet timing.

Rules to know

NC coastal license required. Flounder has a short fall season most years; drum are slot-limited. NC Marine Fisheries has the current table.