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Red grouperShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker80
- Spot80
- Atlantic tarpon78
- Crevalle jack76
- Gray snapper74
- Southern flounder74
- Red drum72
- Spotted seatrout72
- Summer flounder71
- King mackerel70
- Black drum68
- Florida pompano67
- Spanish mackerel65
- Sheepshead64
- Cobia63
- Weakfish63
- Gray triggerfish62
- Red snapper62
- Black sea bass61
- Gag grouper61
- Little tunny61
- Red grouper60
- Greater amberjack56
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 5 PM · Red grouper
- Now
- 606 PM EDT
- Best window
- 6-11 PMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Flooding0.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Deep Bay scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions
Friday, Oct 2 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
93Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 5 kt SEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
87Water temp: 73°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
43Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Red grouper is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.
Source: NCDMF · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red grouper is best here
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Deep Bay
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonRed 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 Deep Bay
Deep Bay is a bay in Alligator River, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
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 crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from July through September.
Tackle & technique
- Red grouper
- Red grouper live on low limestone ledges and potholed live bottom across the West Florida Shelf, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Drift to find hard bottom, then anchor and fish live pinfish, grunts or squid on the bottom with stout conventional tackle. Reel hard right after the bite, because they dive into holes, and use a descending device on fish released from deep water.
- 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
- Hooker Gut84
Gut · 2.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 84
- Atlantic tarpon 82
- Spot 81
4 kt ESEH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft
- Deer Creek80
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 80
- Spot 80
- Southern flounder 79
7 kt ENEH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft
- Broad Creek80
Bay · 2.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 80
- Spot 80
- Southern flounder 79
7 kt ENEH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 ft
- Northeast Prong80
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 80
- Spot 80
- Atlantic tarpon 78
4 kt ESEH 8:04 PM · 0.5 ftL 2:24 AM · 0.4 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.