Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

The Swash

34.79°N · 76.39°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia

67/100Great
Now
384 AM EDT
Best window
4-8 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Oct 3 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score35Fair
Tide1.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 14 · steady
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy28% cloud
Water77°FPersisted

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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

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

The Swash

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 The Swash

The Swash is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, red drum and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, red snapper and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Red drum peak from August through November.

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

  • Great Island Creek

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    60
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 60
    • Spot 57
    • Gray snapper 54

    15 kt NNEH 8:21 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:03 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Horse Island Cove

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    57
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 57
    • Spot 56
    • Crevalle jack 53

    15 kt NNEH 8:21 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:03 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Horse Island Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    55
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 55
    • King mackerel 52
    • Atlantic croaker 51

    15 kt NNEH 8:21 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:03 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Great Island Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    55
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 55
    • King mackerel 52
    • Atlantic croaker 51

    15 kt NNEH 8:21 AM · 1.3 ftL 3:03 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.