Waterlands

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King mackerelPeak season

Bay · North Carolina

Brooks Creek

35.27°N · 75.60°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 4 AM · King mackerel

75/100Great
Now
475 PM EDT
Best window
5-11 PMEbb 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 · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score47Good
Tide3.4 ftHigh
Current0.4 knmodeled · toward WSW
Wind20 kn ENEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast76% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here

Peak season for King mackerel · 5 more weeks at peak

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

King mackerel in North Carolina

Spot profile

Brooks Creek

Depth
2-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonKing 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 Brooks Creek

Brooks Creek is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-4 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 Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black sea bass, gray triggerfish and red snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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

  • Buxton Harbor Channel

    Channel · 2.3 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 61
    • Florida pompano 52

    20 kt ENEL 11:42 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:34 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Kings Channel

    Channel · 1.7 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Spot 57
    • Florida pompano 54

    20 kt ENEL 11:41 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:33 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Kings Point

    Cape · 0.1 mi

    55
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Spot 55
    • Florida pompano 52

    20 kt ENEL 11:41 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:33 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Brooks Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    55
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Spot 55
    • Florida pompano 52

    20 kt ENEL 11:41 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:33 AM · 2.9 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.