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King mackerelPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker78
- Spot77
- Red drum73
- Crevalle jack72
- Atlantic tarpon71
- King mackerel67
- Summer flounder67
- Spotted seatrout66
- Southern flounder65
- Gray snapper64
- Black drum62
- Florida pompano62
- Cobia57
- Gray triggerfish57
- Spanish mackerel57
- Weakfish57
- Black sea bass56
- Gag grouper56
- Red snapper56
- Red grouper55
- Sheepshead53
- Little tunny51
- Greater amberjack50
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 10 AM · King mackerel
- Now
- 676 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding2.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hampton Bay 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
Sunday, Oct 4 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 5 kt ESEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
90Water temp: 78°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · King mackerel
Species seasonality
73Season: PeakHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
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 today
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
Hampton Bay
- Depth
- Up to 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Hampton Bay
Hampton Bay is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is up to 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, red drum and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, cobia and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Red drum peak from August through November.
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
- East Channel82
Channel · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 82
- Spot 79
- Atlantic tarpon 73
8 kt NEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 ft
- Pettiford Creek Bay78
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 78
- Spot 77
- Red drum 73
8 kt NEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 ft
- Robinson Point73
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 73
- Red drum 73
- Spot 72
8 kt NEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 ft
- Cahoon Point72
Cape · 1.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Red drum 72
- Spot 72
8 kt NEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 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.