Waterlands

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Atlantic croakerShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Spencer Point

35.18°N · 76.61°W · Cape · Neuse and Bay Rivers

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 6 PM · Atlantic croaker

79/100Great
Now
555 AM EST
Best window
3-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Wednesday, Nov 4 · 8 AM

Time8A
Score70Great
Tide0.5 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward N
Wind6 kn Egusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp70°Warm
WeatherClear7% cloud
Water65°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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

Atlantic croaker season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Atlantic croaker · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Atlantic croaker in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Spencer Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · 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 Spencer Point

Spencer Point is a cape in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spotted seatrout, weakfish and little tunny. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, weakfish, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, striped bass and black drum. Spotted seatrout peak from September through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Little tunny 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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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

  • Harper Creek

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    68
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 68
    • Spotted seatrout 67
    • Weakfish 67

    10 kt NEH 8:05 AM · 0.5 ftL 12:48 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Wise Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    63
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 63
    • Spotted seatrout 63
    • Weakfish 63

    6 kt NNEH 8:05 AM · 0.5 ftL 12:48 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Sanders Point

    Cape · 0.9 mi

    62
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 62
    • Weakfish 62
    • Little tunny 61

    10 kt NEH 8:05 AM · 0.5 ftL 12:48 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Garden Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    62
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 62
    • Weakfish 62
    • Little tunny 61

    10 kt NEH 8:05 AM · 0.5 ftL 12:48 PM · 0.4 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.