Waterlands

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CobiaShoulder season

Gut · North Carolina

Zack Creek

34.71°N · 76.47°W · Gut · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 12 AM · Cobia

69/100Great
Now
292 AM EDT
Best window
4-9 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Low0.6 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Thursday, Oct 1 · 5 PM

Time5P
Score35Fair
Tide1.2 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.5 kn · toward W
Wind5 kn SEgusts 14 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.0 ft · 6 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy34% chance of rain
Water77°FModel

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

Zack Creek

Depth
1-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Zack Creek

Zack Creek is a gut in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, black sea bass, weakfish and red snapper. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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

  • Horsepen Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    65
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 65
    • Atlantic tarpon 61
    • Spotted seatrout 59

    13 kt NEL 3:02 AM · 0.6 ftH 8:21 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Codds Creek

    Gut · 1.3 mi

    56
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 56
    • Spot 53
    • Atlantic tarpon 52

    13 kt NEH 7:25 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:07 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Try Yard Creek

    Gut · 1.5 mi

    56
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 56
    • Red drum 53
    • Spot 53

    13 kt NEH 7:25 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:07 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Mullet Cove

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    53
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 53
    • Spot 52
    • Crevalle jack 49

    13 kt NEH 7:25 AM · 1.6 ftL 2:07 PM · 0.5 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.