Waterlands

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Greater amberjackShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Yaupon Hammock Gut

34.81°N · 76.37°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 12 AM · Greater amberjack

60/100Good
Now
411 AM EDT
Best window
1-2 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score41Fair
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.5 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind17 kn NEgusts 24 · steady
Sea stateModerate3.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast95% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Greater amberjack is best here

Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder

Greater amberjack season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Greater amberjack · 9 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Greater amberjack in North Carolina

Spot profile

Yaupon Hammock Gut

Depth
1-3 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 Yaupon Hammock Gut

Yaupon Hammock Gut 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 crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and gray snapper, and shoulder season for red snapper, black drum, 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

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

  • Old Channel

    Channel · 0.6 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Red drum 62
    • Spot 62

    17 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Cedar Inlet

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Crevalle jack 63
    • Red drum 62

    17 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Gutter Creek

    Gut · 1.2 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Spot 62
    • Crevalle jack 60

    17 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Old Channel Point

    Cape · 0.8 mi

    56
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 56
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Gray snapper 55

    17 kt NEL 4:30 AM · 0.2 ftH 9:40 AM · 0.6 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.