Waterlands

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Greater amberjackShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Gull Rocks

35.38°N · 76.01°W · Bar · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 AM · Greater amberjack

83/100Great
Now
616 PM EDT
Best window
6-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score61Good
Tide0.6 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.3 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind13 kn NEgusts 23 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 3 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast56% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Greater amberjack 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 Greater amberjack is best here

Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in North Carolina

Spot profile

Gull Rocks

Depth
3-7 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonGreater amberjack

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 Gull Rocks

Gull Rocks is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 3-7 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, gray snapper and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for king mackerel, gray snapper, crevalle jack and summer flounder, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, gag grouper, gray triggerfish and red snapper. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

Tackle & technique

Greater amberjack
Amberjack school around wrecks, oil rigs, towers and high-relief reefs in 60 to 250 feet, often suspended well above the bottom. Drop a live blue runner or work a heavy jig through the school, then pump hard, because a big AJ runs straight back into the structure. Heavy conventional gear with 50 to 80 pound line is standard.
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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hillerys Cove

    Bay · 2.8 mi

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

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Gull Shoal

    Bar · 2.0 mi

    69
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 69
    • Crevalle jack 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Hog Island Shoal

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    68
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 68
    • King mackerel 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Bensons Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Crevalle jack 67
    • King mackerel 67

    13 kt NEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 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.