Waterlands

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Greater amberjackShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Cedar Bay

36.42°N · 75.94°W · Bay · Currituck Sound

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Best score today · 4 AM · Greater amberjack

74/100Great
Now
463 AM EDT
Best window
3-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding2.6 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 AM · now

Time3ANOW
Score46Good
Tide2.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SE
Wind8 kn ENEgusts 12 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy32% cloud
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Greater amberjack is best here

Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in North Carolina

Spot profile

Cedar Bay

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonGreater amberjack

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 Cedar Bay

Cedar Bay is a bay in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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 gray snapper, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, red snapper and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Greater amberjack
Amberjack school around wrecks, oil rigs, towers and high-relief reefs in 60 to 250 feet, often suspended well above the bottom. Drop a live blue runner or work a heavy jig through the school, then pump hard, because a big AJ runs straight back into the structure. Heavy conventional gear with 50 to 80 pound line is standard.
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

  • Goose Castle

    Channel · 1.1 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 72
    • Atlantic tarpon 72

    8 kt ENEH 5:00 AM · 3.1 ftL 10:46 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Goosecastle Point

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    8 kt ENEH 5:00 AM · 3.1 ftL 10:46 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Wolf House Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 64
    • Atlantic tarpon 63

    8 kt ENEH 4:53 AM · 3.0 ftL 10:39 AM · 1.1 ft

  • Goose Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    62
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 62
    • Spot 62
    • Atlantic tarpon 62

    8 kt ENEH 5:00 AM · 3.1 ftL 10:46 AM · 1.1 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.