Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Piney Island Bay

34.97°N · 76.46°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 9 AM · Cobia

80/100Great
Now
596 PM EDT
Best window
6 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score59Good
Tide0.3 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward WSW
Wind12 kn ENEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.3 ft · 3 s
Air temp77°Warm
WeatherOvercast82% chance of rain
Water81°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Cobia is best here

Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder

Cobia season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Cobia · 1 more week at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Cobia in North Carolina

Spot profile

Piney Island Bay

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Piney Island Bay

Piney Island Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

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 red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

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.
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

  • Long Bay

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    79
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 79
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Gray snapper 74

    12 kt ENEH 9:38 PM · 0.7 ftL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Stump Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 77
    • Crevalle jack 75

    12 kt ENEH 9:38 PM · 0.7 ftL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Sanborns Gut

    Bay · 1.4 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 76
    • Crevalle jack 75

    12 kt ENEH 8:33 PM · 0.3 ftL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ft

  • Corn Sage Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    74
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 74
    • Crevalle jack 73
    • Gray snapper 70

    12 kt ENEH 8:33 PM · 0.3 ftL 3:33 AM · 0.2 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.