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Spanish mackerelOff seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spot65
- Atlantic croaker64
- Florida pompano64
- Bluefish63
- Little tunny63
- Red drum63
- Spotted seatrout62
- Black drum60
- Weakfish60
- Black sea bass59
- Southern flounder56
- Gag grouper54
- Summer flounder54
- Striped bass53
- Red snapper51
- Sheepshead50
- King mackerel41
- Greater amberjack38
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Crevalle jack35
- Gray snapper35
- Gray triggerfish35
- Red grouper35
- Spanish mackerel35
- Cobia25
Best score today · 7 AM · Spanish mackerel
- Now
- 3510 PM EST
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Lower Middle scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Wednesday, Nov 4 · 6 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
80Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
60Water temp: 64°F, coldLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.8 ftSeason & habitat · Spanish mackerel
Species seasonality
45Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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 today
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
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Lower Middle
- Depth
- 8-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · 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 Lower Middle
Lower Middle is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 8-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spot, Atlantic croaker and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, bluefish, little tunny and red drum, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, black drum and summer flounder. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Inner Middle65
Bar · 4.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Florida pompano 65
- Red drum 65
4 kt NEL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 AM · 0.3 ft
- Middle Ground65
Bar · 4.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Florida pompano 65
- Red drum 65
4 kt NEL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 AM · 0.3 ft
- Outer Point65
Cape · 5.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Red drum 65
- Spot 65
4 kt NEL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 AM · 0.3 ft
- Upper Middle65
Bar · 6.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 65
- Florida pompano 65
- Red drum 65
4 kt NEL 2:33 AM · 0.3 ftH 5:28 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.