Disclaimer: Always check local fishing regulations, water access rights and land ownership before fishing, regardless of any catches logged in that area by the Fishbrain community. Fishbrain has mapped millions of acres of government-owned land across the USA to help you identify potential fishing access, but you are responsible for ensuring compliance with all legal requirements.
Fishing regulations in North Carolina can change throughout the year. Make sure to check this page before fishing for the most up to date rules and regulations for the current season. Local regulations govern when you can fish, the max size of the fish you can keep, how many fish you can keep, and more.
Below you will see fishing regulations for catching Common dolphinfish as of April 2nd, 2026. To view regulations for a different fish species, please click on your preferred species in the drop-down.
Common dolphinfish
Seasons
Open
Bag limit
10
Vessel limit
54
Effective May 2nd 2022, the recreational vessel limit for dolphin is 54 fish (excluding headboats).
The 10 dolphin per person per day recreational bag limit will remain unchanged for all recreational vessels (private, charter vessels, and headboats).
See Fishery Bulletin
Must be landed with head and fins intact.
Minimum size limit only applies in waters off Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.
If you are bringing fish back to the U.S. from the Bahamas by water, please see Bringing fish back from the Bahamas.
----------
Federally Permitted Charter/Headboats:
-If a federally permitted vessel fishing in federal waters catches a species that is closed to harvest in federal waters, the vessel is not allowed to retain that fish.
-If a federally permitted vessel fishing in state waters catches a species that is closed to harvest in federal waters but open in state waters, the vessel is not allowed to retain that species.
-If a federally permitted vessel fishing in federal waters catches a species that is closed to harvest in state waters but open to harvest in federal waters, they may retain that fish if they do not stop to fish in state waters when returning to port. All gear must be stowed.
Find the best fishing spots on Raleigh Bay by looking at where other anglers have caught fish. This can easily be done in the where it is also possible to see big fish potential and how good fishing is right now along with Garmin® depth maps.