Waterlands

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King mackerelPeak season

Bar · North Carolina

Fulker Shoal (historical)

35.88°N · 75.70°W · Bar · Croatan and Roanoke Sounds

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 AM · Florida pompano

72/100Great
Now
683 PM EDT
Best window
3-5 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score68Great
Tide0.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.7 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind10 kn ENEgusts 23 · building
Sea stateModerate2.5 ft · 5 s
Air temp80°Warm
WeatherOvercast88% chance of rain
Water79°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here

Peak season for King mackerel · 5 more weeks at peak

King mackerel season by week of the year. Peak season for King mackerel · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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King mackerel in North Carolina

Spot profile

Fulker Shoal (historical)

Depth
9-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonKing mackerel

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 Fulker Shoal (historical)

Fulker Shoal (historical) is a bar in Croatan and Roanoke Sounds, North Carolina. Depth is 9-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, Florida pompano and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for king mackerel, crevalle jack, summer flounder and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and black sea bass. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
Florida pompano
Pompano feed on sand fleas and coquina clams in the trough between the beach and the first sandbar, and around the sandy edges of passes, inlets and bridges. Surf anglers fish a two-hook pompano rig with sand fleas, clams or shrimp, while boat and bridge anglers bounce small jigs along the bottom. The runs follow water temperature, heading north in spring and south in fall as the water cools.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Ashbee Harbor

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    74
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 74
    • Crevalle jack 73
    • Spot 70

    10 kt ENEH 7:57 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:47 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Deep Wear Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    68
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 68
    • Crevalle jack 66
    • Atlantic croaker 62

    10 kt ENEH 7:57 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:47 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Black Hall Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    65
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 65
    • King mackerel 64
    • Summer flounder 62

    10 kt ENEH 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftL 3:21 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Pork Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    64
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 64
    • Crevalle jack 60
    • Florida pompano 56

    10 kt ENEH 9:03 PM · 0.5 ftL 3:21 AM · 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.