Waterlands

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WeakfishShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Cowpen Point

34.97°N · 76.18°W · Bar · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Weakfish

76/100Great
Now
4111 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
High0.3 ft

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 PM · now

Time11PNOW
Score41Fair
Tide0.3 ftHigh
CurrentEbb0.4 kn · toward E
Wind2 kn Egusts 8 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast39% chance of rain
Water82°FModel

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Weakfish 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 Weakfish is best here

Shoulder season for Weakfish · 1 more week at shoulder

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

Weakfish in North Carolina

Spot profile

Cowpen Point

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonWeakfish

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 Cowpen Point

Cowpen Point is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 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 Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and red snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

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.
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

  • Wainwright Slue

    Gut · 2.5 mi

    80
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 80
    • Spot 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 67

    2 kt EL 3:23 AM · 0.2 ftH 7:59 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Sand Island Inlet

    Gut · 2.8 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 73
    • Atlantic tarpon 64

    2 kt EL 3:23 AM · 0.2 ftH 7:59 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Mullet Shoal

    Bar · 2.0 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Spot 70
    • Red drum 64

    2 kt EL 3:23 AM · 0.2 ftH 7:59 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Merkle Hammock

    Bar · 2.9 mi

    57
    Top: Atlantic tarponPeak season
    • Atlantic tarpon 57
    • Atlantic croaker 56
    • Spot 55

    2 kt EH 4:56 AM · 1.6 ftL 10:55 AM · 0.6 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.