Waterlands

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Black sea bassShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Casey Bay

35.07°N · 76.07°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 5 AM · Black sea bass

75/100Great
Now
4510 PM EDT
Best window
10-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 PM · now

Time10PNOW
Score45Good
Tide0.9 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.3 kn · toward E
Wind20 kn NEgusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast92% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Black sea bass 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 Black sea bass is best here

Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder

Black sea bass season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Black sea bass · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Black sea bass in North Carolina

Spot profile

Casey Bay

Depth
Up to 5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonBlack sea bass

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 Casey Bay

Casey Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is up to 5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, 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 red snapper, black drum, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

Black sea bass
Black sea bass hold tight to wrecks, reefs, rock piles and jetties, from 15 feet inshore in late spring to well over 100 feet on offshore wrecks in late fall. Anchor or drift right over the structure and fish a two-hook high-low rig with squid or clam, or bounce a small jig on the bottom. The biggest males sit on the highest relief.
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

  • Baymarsh Thorofare

    Gut · 0.2 mi

    63
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Red drum 63
    • Crevalle jack 61

    20 kt NEL 11:52 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:42 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Warren Gilgos Creek

    Gut · 0.3 mi

    63
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Red drum 63
    • Crevalle jack 61

    20 kt NEL 11:52 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:42 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Evergreen Slough

    Gut · 0.3 mi

    63
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 63
    • Spot 60
    • Gray snapper 57

    20 kt NEL 11:52 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:42 AM · 1.8 ft

  • Haulover Point

    Cape · 0.7 mi

    57
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 57
    • Gray snapper 56
    • Crevalle jack 55

    20 kt NEL 11:52 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:42 AM · 1.8 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.