UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN
King mackerelPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker76
- Spot76
- Atlantic tarpon74
- Red drum74
- Crevalle jack72
- Southern flounder72
- Spotted seatrout71
- Summer flounder68
- Black drum67
- King mackerel66
- Gray snapper65
- Weakfish60
- Cobia59
- Gag grouper58
- Red snapper58
- Spanish mackerel58
- Black sea bass57
- Gray triggerfish57
- Red grouper57
- Sheepshead56
- Little tunny55
- Florida pompano51
- Greater amberjack51
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 5 PM · King mackerel
- Now
- 668 AM EDT
- Best window
- 1-10 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sand Cove scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 8 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
53Tide: EbbingCurrent: 0.2 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt WPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
93Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.3 ftSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
73Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When King mackerel is best here
Peak season for King mackerel · 5 more weeks at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Sand Cove
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Sand Cove
Sand Cove is a bay in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 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 red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, weakfish, cobia and gag grouper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
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.
- 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
- Fosters Channel80
Gut · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 80
- Spot 77
- Atlantic tarpon 77
4 kt WL 9:45 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:24 PM · 3.5 ft
- Lone Oak Channel80
Gut · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 80
- Spot 77
- Atlantic tarpon 77
4 kt WL 9:45 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:24 PM · 3.5 ft
- Wells Bay76
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Spot 76
- Red drum 74
4 kt WL 9:45 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:24 PM · 3.5 ft
- Long Point Pond75
Bay · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 75
- Spot 75
- Southern flounder 74
4 kt WL 9:45 AM · 1.2 ftH 4:24 PM · 3.5 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.