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CobiaShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker60
- King mackerel58
- Gray snapper55
- Red drum53
- Red snapper53
- Spot52
- Gray triggerfish51
- Black sea bass50
- Red grouper50
- Black drum49
- Gag grouper49
- Summer flounder49
- Crevalle jack47
- Greater amberjack44
- Sheepshead43
- Spanish mackerel42
- Weakfish40
- Cobia37
- Florida pompano37
- Little tunny37
- Bluefish35
- Atlantic tarpon30
- Southern flounder30
- Spotted seatrout30
Best score today · 4 AM · Cobia
- Now
- 379 PM EDT
- Best window
- 9-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Oliver Reef 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 9 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
76Tide: EbbingCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
15Wind: 21 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
41Water temp: 80°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 3.8 ftSeason & habitat · Cobia
Species seasonality
56Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Cobia 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 Cobia is best here
Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Oliver Reef
- Depth
- 3-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Reef · Inner · Semi-exposedReef · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonCobia
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 Oliver Reef
Oliver Reef is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 3-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads reef, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, king mackerel and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, king mackerel, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for red snapper, gray triggerfish, black sea bass and red grouper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September.
Tackle & technique
- Cobia
- Cobia cruise inlets, beaches, buoys, wrecks and the backs of rays in 5 to 100 feet of water. On calm, sunny days sight-cast bucktails or live eels to fish near the surface. Otherwise anchor up-current of structure, chum, and fish live eels, crabs or menhaden near the bottom.
- 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Austin Reef60
Bar · 1.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 60
- King mackerel 59
- Gray snapper 55
21 kt NEL 11:54 PM · 0.6 ftH 5:41 AM · 1.9 ft
- Rawlinsons Channel60
Channel · 2.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 60
- Spot 57
- Gray snapper 54
21 kt NEL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:57 AM · 0.8 ft
- Egg Shoal54
Bar · 1.9 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 54
- Atlantic croaker 51
- Spot 51
21 kt NEL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:57 AM · 0.8 ft
- Shark Shoal51
Bar · 1.8 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 51
- Spot 51
- King mackerel 50
21 kt NEL 1:14 AM · 0.6 ftH 6:57 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.