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Gag grouperShoulder season

Bay · Georgia

Saint Catherines Sound

31.71°N · 81.16°W · Bay · 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 · Gag grouper

81/100Great

Now: 528 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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Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Sun · 85

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 8 PM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time8PNOW

Score52Good

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

Water83°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

NOW

10P

11P

12A

10A

11A

12P

1.2

0.7

○0.2

○0.0

1.2

1.5

1.0

0.4

○0.0

0.4

1.4

1.8

1.5

0.9

0.3

○0.0

1.2

1.4

1.0

0.4

○0.0

○0.2

1.1

1.8

208

198

178

168

179

189

199

189

199

2110

2310

2410

2310

229

219

209

1.6

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.1

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.1

2.0

1.9

1.8

1.9

83°

82°

Hour

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Gag grouper 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 Gag grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Gag grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Peak
Shoulder
Off
This week

Gag grouper in Georgia →

Spot profile

Saint Catherines Sound

Depth: 20-35 ftSlope
Structure: Bay · Outer · ExposedBay · slope
Season: Shoulder seasonGag grouper

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 Saint Catherines Sound

Saint Catherines Sound is a bay in Coastal waters from Savannah GA to Altamaha Sound GA out 20 nm, including Grays Reef National Marine Sanctuary, Georgia. Depth is 20-35 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, outer water and 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, little tunny and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.

Tackle & technique

Gag grouper: Gag hold on ledges, rock piles and wrecks, from 15 to 40 feet in the fall on Florida's Gulf coast out to 250 feet the rest of the year. Troll deep-diving plugs to find productive rocks, then anchor and drop or freeline live pinfish or pigfish on a strong circle hook. Keep the drag tight and turn the fish in the first few seconds or it will reach the rocks.
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 · 1.5 mi
77
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 77
- Spot 74
- Atlantic tarpon 73
8 kt NEL 1:04 AM · 1.1 ftH 7:05 AM · 7.0 ft
Middle Ground
Bar · 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 · 5.1 mi
74
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Crevalle jack 74
- 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
- Florida pompano 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.