Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

CobiaShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Oilles Creek

34.74°N · 76.72°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 PM · Cobia

81/100Great
Now
618 AM EDT
Best window
9-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing2.0 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Oilles Creek 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 · 8 AM · now

Time8ANOW
Score61Good
Tide2.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward ESE
Wind6 kn NNEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherOvercast71% chance of rain
Water81°FObserved

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

Oilles Creek

Depth
About 1 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Oilles Creek

Oilles Creek is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is about 1 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.

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 black drum, black sea bass, cobia and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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.
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

  • Dennis Bay

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Spot 78
    • Red drum 77

    6 kt NNEL 11:10 AM · 0.9 ftH 5:40 PM · 3.5 ft

  • Crab Point Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Spot 78
    • Red drum 77

    6 kt NNEL 11:10 AM · 0.9 ftH 5:40 PM · 3.5 ft

  • Calico Creek

    Bay · 0.9 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Spot 79
    • Red drum 77

    6 kt NNEL 11:10 AM · 0.9 ftH 5:40 PM · 3.5 ft

  • Calico Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Crevalle jack 80
    • Spot 79

    6 kt NNEL 11:10 AM · 0.9 ftH 5:40 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.