Waterlands

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Greater amberjackShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Mouse Harbor

35.30°N · 76.49°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 9 AM · Greater amberjack

80/100Great
Now
3812 PM EDT
Best window
12-5 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.5 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score38Fair
Tide0.5 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind12 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.5 ft · 3 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast86% chance of rain
Water82°FModel

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

Mouse Harbor

Depth
5-8 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Mouse Harbor

Mouse Harbor is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 5-8 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 Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

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.
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

  • Persimmon Tree Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Florida pompano 58

    12 kt NEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Hogpen Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Florida pompano 58

    12 kt NEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Shell Hill Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Florida pompano 58

    12 kt NEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Kirk Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 66
    • Florida pompano 58

    12 kt NEL 6:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 1:18 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.