Waterlands

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Red grouperShoulder season

Gut · North Carolina

Big Narrows

36.28°N · 75.85°W · Gut · Currituck Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 5 AM · Red grouper

80/100Great
Now
524 PM EDT
Best window
4-8 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Flooding3.4 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score52Good
Tide3.4 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.1 knmodeled · toward S
Wind9 kn ENEgusts 19 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.0 ft · 4 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherOvercast93% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Big Narrows

Depth
2-3 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Big Narrows

Big Narrows is a gut in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, Spanish mackerel and black sea bass. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.

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

  • The Hammock

    Channel · 1.0 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 74
    • Crevalle jack 67

    9 kt ENEH 5:11 PM · 3.6 ftL 11:29 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Little Narrows

    Gut · 1.0 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 74
    • Crevalle jack 70

    9 kt ENEH 5:11 PM · 3.6 ftL 11:29 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Lone Oak Channel

    Gut · 0.9 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Spot 72
    • Crevalle jack 65

    9 kt ENEH 5:11 PM · 3.6 ftL 11:29 PM · 0.9 ft

  • Sheep Pen Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    68
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 68
    • King mackerel 63

    9 kt ENEH 5:11 PM · 3.6 ftL 11:29 PM · 0.9 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.