Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Deep Bay

35.89°N · 75.90°W · Bay · Alligator River

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Best score today · 7 AM · Cobia

82/100Great
Now
464 AM EDT
Best window
4-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Sep 26 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score54Good
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSE
Wind9 kn Ngusts 18 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 7 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast88% cloud
Water81°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Cobia is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in North Carolina

Spot profile

Deep Bay

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonCobia

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Deep Bay

Deep Bay is a bay in Alligator River, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and southern flounder, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and red snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Cobia
Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hooker Gut

    Gut · 2.2 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Spot 77
    • Atlantic tarpon 72

    7 kt NEL 11:26 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:44 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Broad Creek

    Bay · 2.2 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 77
    • Southern flounder 68

    5 kt NEL 11:26 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:44 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Deer Creek

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 69

    5 kt NEL 11:26 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:44 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Northeast Prong

    Bay · 2.3 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 76
    • Atlantic tarpon 68

    7 kt NEL 11:26 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:44 PM · 0.4 ft

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with NCDMF before you keep a fish.