Waterlands

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King mackerelShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Tar Hole Inlet

35.18°N · 75.80°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 5 PM · King mackerel

71/100Great
Now
568 AM EST
Best window
5-7 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding0.8 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 2 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score66Great
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.8 kn · toward SSE
Wind10 kn NEgusts 13 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.6 ft · 5 s
Air temp66°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water66°FModel

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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When King mackerel is best here

Shoulder season for King mackerel · 4 more weeks at shoulder

King mackerel season by week of the year. Shoulder season for King mackerel · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

King mackerel in North Carolina →

Spot profile

Tar Hole Inlet

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Inlet · Inner · Semi-exposedInlet · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder 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 Tar Hole Inlet

Tar Hole Inlet is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads inlet, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are little tunny, weakfish and bluefish. It is peak season now for little tunny, weakfish, bluefish and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for summer flounder, spot, striped bass and Atlantic croaker. Little tunny peak from October through November. Weakfish peak from October through November. Bluefish peak from March through April and from November through December.

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.
Little tunny
Little tunny travel fast in schools that pin bait against inlets, points, jetties and tide rips, usually within a few miles of shore and often in less than 60 feet. Stay off the school's path, wait for it to surface within range, and cast small metal or epoxy jigs with a fast retrieve. When fish stay down, troll small feathers along bait edges and color changes to find them.
Weakfish
Weakfish hold along channel edges, grass beds, oyster bars and bridge shadows in bays and sounds, usually in 5 to 40 feet of water, and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and after dark. Swim soft plastics or bucktails slowly near the bottom, or drift peeler crab and bloodworms. They have soft mouths, so keep the drag light and the pressure steady.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hatteras Inlet

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    70
    Top: Little tunnyPeak season
    • Little tunny 70
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Weakfish 68

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Cockrel Creek

    Channel · 1.2 mi

    68
    Top: Black sea bassPeak season
    • Black sea bass 68
    • Weakfish 68
    • Red drum 62

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Legged Lump

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    67
    Top: Florida pompanoPeak season
    • Florida pompano 67
    • Little tunny 67
    • Bluefish 65

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Shingle Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    64
    Top: WeakfishPeak season
    • Weakfish 64
    • Bluefish 63
    • Black sea bass 62

    17 kt NEH 12:25 PM · 2.5 ftL 7:06 PM · 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.