Waterlands

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Spanish mackerelOff season

Cape · North Carolina

Goose Bay Point

34.99°N · 76.26°W · Cape · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 4 PM · Spanish mackerel

83/100Great
Now
3311 AM EST
Best window
2-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.2 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Nov 14 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score35Fair
Tide0.1 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind3 kn SEgusts 10 · steady
Air temp62°Mild
WeatherOvercast98% cloud
Water68°FPersisted

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

Out of season for Spanish mackerel · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks

Spanish mackerel season by week of the year. Out of season for Spanish mackerel · shoulder season starts in 17 weeks.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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Spanish mackerel in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Goose Bay Point

Depth
1-3 ftNearest water
Structure
Point · Inner · Semi-exposedPoint · flat bottom
Season
Off 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 Goose Bay Point

Goose Bay Point is a cape in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth in the nearest water is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads point, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, black sea bass and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, black sea bass, bluefish and red drum, and shoulder season for striped bass, spot, Atlantic croaker and summer flounder. Little tunny peak from October through November. Black sea bass peak from March through April and from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Great Ditch

    Channel · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 64
    • Black sea bass 63
    • Red drum 63

    10 kt NEH 8:42 PM · 0.3 ftL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Oyster Creek Pit

    Cape · 0.5 mi

    64
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 64
    • Red drum 63
    • Spotted seatrout 60

    10 kt NEH 8:42 PM · 0.3 ftL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Goose Bay

    Bay · 0.1 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Spotted seatrout 60
    • Weakfish 60

    10 kt NEH 8:42 PM · 0.3 ftL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Oyster Creek

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    63
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 63
    • Spotted seatrout 60
    • Weakfish 59

    10 kt NEH 8:42 PM · 0.3 ftL 2:33 AM · 0.3 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.