Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Greater amberjackShoulder season

Channel · North Carolina

Browns Inlet

34.60°N · 77.23°W · Channel · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Greater amberjack

83/100Great
Now
446 PM EDT
Best window
6-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing3.3 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Browns Inlet scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score44Fair
Tide3.3 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind8 kn ENEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast52% chance of rain
Water82°FModel

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.

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

Browns Inlet

Depth
3-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Outer · ExposedInlet · 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 Browns Inlet

Browns Inlet is a channel in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, outer water and 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 crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and black sea bass. 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

  • Banks Channel

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    81
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 81
    • Spot 76
    • Atlantic tarpon 70

    8 kt ENEL 11:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:49 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Sanders Creek

    Gut · 3.5 mi

    81
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 81
    • Spot 77
    • Atlantic tarpon 68

    7 kt NEL 11:56 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:46 AM · 2.1 ft

  • Browns Sound

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 75
    • Florida pompano 68

    8 kt ENEL 11:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:49 AM · 2.8 ft

  • Onslow Bay

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 76
    • Florida pompano 68

    8 kt ENEL 11:58 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:49 AM · 2.8 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.