Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Oyster Creek

34.78°N · 76.71°W · Bay · Neuse and Bay Rivers

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Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

82/100Great
Now
486 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High3.4 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score48Good
Tide3.4 ftHigh
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind9 kn NEgusts 18 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 4 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast63% 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.

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

Oyster Creek

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Oyster Creek

Oyster Creek is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, cobia and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

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

  • Core Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 77
    • Crevalle jack 63

    9 kt NEH 6:20 PM · 3.5 ftL 12:54 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Bell Creek

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 77
    • Crevalle jack 63

    9 kt NEH 6:20 PM · 3.5 ftL 12:54 AM · 0.8 ft

  • White Rock

    Bar · 1.1 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 71
    • Florida pompano 68

    9 kt NEH 6:20 PM · 3.5 ftL 12:54 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Penn Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 71
    • Red drum 63

    9 kt NEL 11:56 PM · 1.0 ftH 5:56 AM · 3.2 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.