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Atlantic croakerShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all72
- Atlantic croaker72
- Spot69
- Weakfish63
- Florida pompano60
- Red drum60
- Black sea bass59
- Spotted seatrout57
- Southern flounder55
- Black drum54
- Summer flounder52
- Bluefish51
- Little tunny50
- Striped bass50
- Gag grouper49
- Sheepshead49
- Red snapper46
- King mackerel37
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Crevalle jack35
- Gray snapper35
- Gray triggerfish35
- Red grouper35
- Greater amberjack34
- Spanish mackerel26
- Cobia20
Best score today · 6 PM · Black sea bass
- Now
- 721 AM EST
- Best window
- 3-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High2.1 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sanders Creek 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
Saturday, Nov 14 · 7 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
85Water temp: 68°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeason & habitat · Weakfish
Species seasonality
100Season: PeakHabitat: Prime structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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 · 4 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Sanders Creek
- Depth
- Up to 3 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 Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is up to 3 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, spot and weakfish. It is peak season now for weakfish, Florida pompano, red drum and black sea bass, and shoulder season for Atlantic croaker, spot, black drum and summer flounder. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Weakfish peak from October through November.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Browns Inlet72
Channel · 3.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Florida pompano 69
- Spot 69
8 kt NNEL 7:08 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:40 PM · 3.5 ft
- Cow Channel70
Channel · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 70
- Spot 67
- Weakfish 61
7 kt NNEL 7:06 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 2.6 ft
- Bear Inlet69
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Florida pompano 66
8 kt NNEL 7:06 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:37 PM · 2.6 ft
- Browns Sound69
Bay · 3.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Florida pompano 67
8 kt NNEL 7:08 AM · 0.4 ftH 1:40 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.