Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Hay Point

36.05°N · 75.70°W · Cape · Croatan and Roanoke Sounds

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Best score today · 2 AM · Cobia

48/100Good
Now
303 PM EDT
Best window
3 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.7 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
Score30Fair
Tide2.7 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.6 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind20 kn NEgusts 43 · steady
Sea stateRough6.5 ft · 8 s
Air temp74°Warm
WeatherOvercast76% chance of rain
Water78°FObserved

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

Hay Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Hay Point

Hay Point is a cape in Croatan and Roanoke Sounds, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are black sea bass, bluefish and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for king mackerel, Atlantic croaker, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black sea bass, Florida pompano, gag grouper and gray triggerfish. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

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.
Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
Bluefish
Bluefish travel in size-sorted schools and feed where tide pushes bait past structure: inlet mouths, rips, shoal edges and the surf line, mostly in water shallower than 60 feet. Look for birds and breaking bait and cast metal or poppers into it, or soak cut bunker or mullet on the bottom from the beach. Use a short wire or heavy leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Kitty Hawk Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Florida pompano 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Long Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Florida pompano 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Shellbank Point

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Bluefish 35
    • Florida pompano 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 ft

  • Colington Creek

    Gut · 2.4 mi

    35
    Top: Black sea bassShoulder season
    • Black sea bass 35
    • Florida pompano 35
    • Gag grouper 35

    20 kt NEH 5:53 PM · 3.8 ftL 12:12 AM · 1.0 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.