Southeast Atlantic · ChartNav curated ground
Frying Pan Shoals
The long shoal reaching off Cape Fear — king mackerel, cobia and amberjack on the tower and shoal edges.
What's biting here — right now
Prime water for Atlantic Croaker & Black Drum — 80°F on the bottom, water moving now.
Today's bite
4:35 AM – 7:56 AM · dawn bite
Days ahead
Mon
OK
wind 17 kt
Tue
ROUGH
wind 26 kt
Wed
ROUGH
wind 22 kt
Thu
OK
seas 4.7 ft
Fri
OK
wind 17 kt
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (59–82°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (10–82 ft ideal)
Shrimp or squid on a bottom rig over mud and shell in the bays and nearshore lumps.
Black Drum100
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (54–82°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (7–66 ft ideal)
Better near bridge pilings and jetty rock if you can find it
Fresh crab or clam on the bottom along channel edges and hard against bridge and jetty rock.
Cobia100
In season (Oct)
SST 81°F in the prime band (70–84°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (26–131 ft ideal)
Better near structure or edges if you can find it
Sight-cast jigs or eels to fish on buoys, rays, wrecks and channel markers.
In season (Oct)
SST 81°F in the prime band (70–84°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (39–197 ft ideal)
Temperature break nearby (1.5°C across ~15 nm)
Better near structure or edges if you can find it
Slow-troll live bait over reefs, wrecks and bait schools; wire leader.
In season (Oct)
SST 81°F in the prime band (68–82°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (10–66 ft ideal)
Small shiny spoons cast or trolled fast through surface bait showers.
In season (Oct)
SST 81°F in the prime band (72–86°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (10–197 ft ideal)
Temperature break nearby (1.5°C across ~15 nm)
Cut bait in a slick off the beach or the bar — the one that jumps and spins when it eats.
In season (Oct)
SST 81°F in the prime band (70–86°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (7–131 ft ideal)
Throw a big topwater into a busting school and hold on — pound for pound the hardest pull inshore.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (68–84°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (20–131 ft ideal)
No charted structure within 250 m — scored cautiously (charts don't mark all hard bottom)
Small jellyball or clam bits on light tackle right against a wreck, tower or buoy chain.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (64–82°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (66–295 ft ideal)
No charted structure within 250 m — scored cautiously (charts don't mark all hard bottom)
Small strong hooks tight to the structure — they bite short and shred a bait off a big hook.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (64–81°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (49–262 ft ideal)
Near the northern edge of its range (regular north to about 33.0°N)
No charted structure within 250 m — scored cautiously (charts don't mark all hard bottom)
Heavy tackle with live bait tight to ledges and swiss-cheese bottom.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (64–81°F prime)
Charted 64 ft suits this species (66–328 ft ideal)
Near the northern edge of its range (regular north to about 33.0°N)
No charted structure within 250 m — scored cautiously (charts don't mark all hard bottom)
Cut or live bait just off bottom structure; check season before targeting.
In season (Oct)
Bottom temp 80°F at 66 ft in the prime band (68–82°F prime)
Charted 64 ft marginal for this species (82–328 ft ideal)
No charted structure within 250 m — scored cautiously (charts don't mark all hard bottom)
Live bait or big vertical jigs straight over deep wrecks and towers.
Live habitat-envelope scoring at this exact cell — SST, charted depth, charted structure and seabed, NOAA-designated habitat. The same engine and cards as tapping the spot in Fish mode.
Today's bite windows — moving water
Moving water right now — building
4:35 AM – 7:56 AM
peak 6:16 AM · ebb
peak 6:16 AM · ebb
10:46 AM – 2:24 PM
peak 12:35 PM · flood
peak 12:35 PM · flood
5:21 PM – 8:57 PM
peak 7:09 PM · ebb
peak 7:09 PM · ebb
Derived from the tide at Cape Fear — flow peaks near mid-tide, goes slack near high and low. No tidal-current station within 10 nm of this spot. Timing only — it never changes the habitat scores above.
The week ahead — full forecast
Drag the graph for any hour — wind, gusts, seas & period, rain, predicted current. The pale band around the wind line is model disagreement; the day chips carry the verdict and the number that caused it; the moons are real phases.
Sea state right now — every train
Combined
2.1 ft @ 10 s
from ESE
Wind sea
0.0 ft
Swell 1
1.3 ft @ 8 s
from SE
Swell 2
1.3 ft @ 8 s
from E
Swell 3
1.0 ft @ 4 s
from SSW · wind chop
Buoy check — 41013 (Frying Pan Shoals, 9.1 nm): 7.8 kt observed vs 8 kt forecast, seas 2 ft vs 2.1 ft · model agrees with the water
Wind: NBM 2.5km direct (70 h) → GFS 0.25° direct (2 h) → Open-Meteo blend (96 h) · Waves: GFS-Wave 0.16° (18Z cycle), full train decomposition · Confidence band: GEFS ensemble spread · Bite windows: CO-OPS tidal predictions
Water temperature — last 10 weeks
2026-07-25 → 2026-10-03 · 81–87°F
Best months here
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Species in season by month for Southeast Atlantic (from the knowledge base). In season now: Atlantic Croaker, Black Drum, Blueline Tilefish, Northern Kingfish, Red Porgy, Southern Flounder, Cobia, Crevalle Jack, Florida Pompano, Red Drum (Redfish).
Other grounds in Southeast Atlantic
The Point — Cape Hatteras
Yellowfin Tuna · Bluefin Tuna · Mahi-Mahi
The Charleston Bump
Wahoo · Mahi-Mahi · Blue Marlin
Reuse welcome with attribution. Weekly regional report: Southeast Atlantic · Feed: RSS · all US grounds: /fishing.