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Greater amberjackShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker75
- Spot75
- Crevalle jack74
- Atlantic tarpon70
- Gray snapper69
- King mackerel69
- Red drum68
- Summer flounder68
- Florida pompano65
- Spotted seatrout65
- Southern flounder63
- Black drum62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Black sea bass59
- Cobia59
- Gray triggerfish59
- Red snapper59
- Sheepshead59
- Weakfish59
- Gag grouper58
- Little tunny58
- Red grouper58
- Greater amberjack54
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 7 AM · Greater amberjack
- Now
- 543 PM EDT
- Best window
- 3-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pains Bay 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 · 3 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
86Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
86Wind: 10 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
80Water temp: 79°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Greater amberjack
Species seasonality
41Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NCDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Greater amberjack is best here
Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pains Bay
- Depth
- 4-6 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 Pains Bay
Pains Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 4-6 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 crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. 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.
- 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
- Rawls Point69
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Crevalle jack 69
- King mackerel 69
10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft
- Pains Point69
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Crevalle jack 67
10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft
- Long Shoal69
Bar · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Crevalle jack 69
- King mackerel 69
10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft
- Pingleton Point69
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Crevalle jack 67
10 kt ENEH 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.