Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Grays Rock

36.32°N · 75.88°W · Bar · Currituck Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Cobia

70/100Great
Now
381 AM EDT
Best window
7-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding1.2 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Sunday, Oct 4 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score35Fair
Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind4 kn SWgusts 15 · steady
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy54% cloud
Water72°FPersisted

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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

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

Grays Rock

Depth
5-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Grays Rock

Grays Rock is a bar in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 5-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for king mackerel, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for red snapper, Florida pompano, black sea bass and gag grouper. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Red drum peak from August 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.
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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Williams Slough

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    57
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 57
    • Spot 57
    • Crevalle jack 54

    14 kt NEH 5:39 AM · 3.2 ftL 11:31 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Long Point Pond

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    57
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 57
    • Spot 57
    • Red drum 55

    14 kt NEH 5:39 AM · 3.2 ftL 11:31 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Thorofare

    Gut · 1.9 mi

    53
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 53
    • Gray snapper 52
    • Summer flounder 51

    14 kt NEH 5:39 AM · 3.2 ftL 11:31 AM · 0.9 ft

  • Wells Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    53
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 53
    • King mackerel 49
    • Summer flounder 49

    14 kt NEH 5:39 AM · 3.2 ftL 11:31 AM · 0.9 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.