Waterlands

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King mackerelPeak season

Bay · North Carolina

No Ache Bay

35.51°N · 75.48°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 AM · King mackerel

74/100Great
Now
4611 PM EDT
Best window
11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score69Great
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind8 kn ESEgusts 14 · steady
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy83% cloud
Water73°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for King mackerel 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 King mackerel is best here

Peak season for King mackerel · 5 more weeks at peak

King mackerel season by week of the year. Peak season for King mackerel · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in North Carolina

Spot profile

No Ache Bay

Depth
2-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonKing 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 No Ache Bay

No Ache Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Tackle & technique

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.
Crevalle jack
Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
Summer flounder
Summer flounder lie half-buried on sand and shell bottom and ambush bait along channel edges, inlet bars and ocean reefs, from a few feet deep in back bays to about 100 feet offshore. Drift with the tide and bounce a bucktail tipped with a squid or fish strip along the bottom. The bigger fish move to ocean reefs and wrecks in late summer, so follow them out.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Phipps Cove

    Bay · 5.6 mi

    61
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 61
    • Atlantic croaker 58
    • Spot 58

    22 kt NEL 3:48 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Midgett Cove

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    51
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 51
    • Crevalle jack 49
    • Summer flounder 47

    22 kt NEL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:46 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Green Point

    Cape · 5.9 mi

    49
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 49
    • Spot 49
    • Gray snapper 48

    22 kt NEL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:46 AM · 0.8 ft

  • Wimble Shoals

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    47
    Top: Summer flounderPeak season
    • Summer flounder 47
    • Florida pompano 46
    • Gray snapper 46

    22 kt NEL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:46 AM · 0.8 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.