Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Gut · North Carolina

Sanders Creek

36.31°N · 75.82°W · Gut · Currituck Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 AM · Weakfish

82/100Great
Now
692 AM EST
Best window
4-8 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 7 · 7 AM

Time7A
Score80Great
Tide3.8 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward S
Wind5 kn Ngusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.6 ft · 8 s
Air temp64°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water64°FBias corrected

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

Sanders Creek

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Sanders Creek

Sanders Creek is a gut in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, weakfish and spot. It is peak season now for weakfish, spotted seatrout, red drum and southern flounder, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, black drum and summer flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Weakfish peak from October through November. Spot peak from September through October.

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.
Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.
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

  • Buzzard Lead

    Gut · 0.7 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Spot 68
    • Weakfish 68

    3 kt NEH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ftL 8:22 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Wells Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    67
    Top: SpotShoulder season
    • Spot 67
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Atlantic croaker 66

    3 kt NEH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ftL 8:22 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Sanders Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    67
    Top: SpotShoulder season
    • Spot 67
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Atlantic croaker 66

    3 kt NEH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ftL 8:22 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Brant Island Pond

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    67
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Atlantic croaker 66
    • Red drum 66

    3 kt NEH 2:20 AM · 3.4 ftL 8:22 AM · 0.7 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.