Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelShoulder season

Cape · North Carolina

Woodstock Point

35.48°N · 76.60°W · Cape · Pamlico and Pungo Rivers

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Best score today · 1 AM · Spanish mackerel

70/100Great
Now
556 AM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 AM · now

Time6ANOW
Score55Good
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind10 kn NNEgusts 20 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 2 s
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water82°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Spanish 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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Spanish mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Spanish mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Spanish mackerel · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Spanish mackerel in North Carolina

Spot profile

Woodstock Point

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonSpanish 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 Woodstock Point

Woodstock Point is a cape in Pamlico and Pungo Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, 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 gray snapper, and shoulder season for black sea bass, gray triggerfish, little tunny and black drum. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Kenyon Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 71
    • Crevalle jack 70

    10 kt NNEL 7:10 AM · 0.3 ftH 1:12 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Wilkins Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Crevalle jack 65

    10 kt NNEL 7:10 AM · 0.3 ftH 1:12 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Durants Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Crevalle jack 65

    10 kt NNEL 7:10 AM · 0.3 ftH 1:12 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Quilley Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Crevalle jack 65

    10 kt NNEL 7:10 AM · 0.3 ftH 1:12 PM · 0.5 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.