Waterlands

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Greater amberjackShoulder season

Bar · Georgia

Middle Ground

31.70°N · 81.15°W · Bar · Coastal waters from Savannah GA to Altamaha Sound GA out 20 nm, including Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary

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Best score today · 3 AM · Greater amberjack

81/100Great
Now
498 PM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing7.3 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

Time8PNOW
Score49Good
Tide7.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.0 kn
Wind8 kn NEgusts 16 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 4 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy34% cloud
Water84°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 GADNR CRD before you keep a fish.

Always check with GADNR CRD ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: GADNR CRD · synced today

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
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  • This week

Greater amberjack in Georgia →

Spot profile

Middle Ground

Depth
15-40 ftSlope
Structure
Bar · Outer · Semi-exposedBar · slope
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 Middle Ground

Middle Ground is a bar in Coastal waters from Savannah GA to Altamaha Sound GA out 20 nm, including Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Georgia. Depth is 15-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bar, outer water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 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 crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and little tunny. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

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

View all on map →
  • Medway Spit

    Bar · 1.8 mi

    76
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Spot 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 73

    8 kt NEL 1:04 AM · 1.1 ftH 7:05 AM · 7.0 ft

  • Saint Catherines Sound

    Bay · 0.4 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 72
    • Atlantic tarpon 71

    8 kt NEL 1:15 AM · 1.1 ftH 7:05 AM · 7.5 ft

  • McQueen Inlet

    Bay · 4.8 mi

    74
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Atlantic tarpon 73

    8 kt NEL 1:15 AM · 1.1 ftH 7:05 AM · 7.5 ft

  • Bradley Point

    Cape · 10 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Crevalle jack 73
    • Atlantic tarpon 72

    9 kt NNEL 1:07 AM · 1.1 ftH 6:53 AM · 7.4 ft

Open in the tide map

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 GADNR CRD before you keep a fish.