Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Gray Point

36.41°N · 75.92°W · Cape · Currituck Sound

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Best score today · 8 AM · Atlantic croaker

81/100Great
Now
5912 PM EST
Best window
12-4 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.0 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score59Good
Tide1.0 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward NNW
Wind11 kn Sgusts 15 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 6 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherOvercast61% chance of rain
Water64°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Atlantic croaker 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 Atlantic croaker is best here

Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Gray Point

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonAtlantic croaker

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 Gray Point

Gray Point is a cape in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, black sea bass, bluefish and gag grouper, and shoulder season for striped bass, spot, Atlantic croaker and red snapper. Little tunny peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

Tackle & technique

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cedar Island Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    75
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 75
    • Spotted seatrout 72
    • Black sea bass 69

    11 kt SH 4:31 PM · 3.4 ftL 10:37 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Church Island Channel

    Channel · 0.7 mi

    74
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 74
    • Weakfish 73
    • Red drum 71

    11 kt SH 4:31 PM · 3.4 ftL 10:37 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Goose Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    74
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 74
    • Black sea bass 69
    • Bluefish 68

    11 kt SH 4:38 PM · 3.5 ftL 10:44 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Wolf House Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    73
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 73
    • Black sea bass 69
    • Bluefish 68

    11 kt SH 4:31 PM · 3.4 ftL 10:37 PM · 0.3 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.