Waterlands

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Red snapperShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Grays Rock

36.32°N · 75.88°W · Bar · Currituck Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 7 PM · Red snapper

77/100Great
Now
624 PM EDT
Best window
7-9 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
Score62Good
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 snapper 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 snapper is best here

Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder

Red snapper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red snapper · 31 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red snapper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Grays Rock

Depth
5-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonRed snapper

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 Grays Rock

Grays Rock is a bar in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 5-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, Atlantic croaker and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for king mackerel, Atlantic croaker, spot and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, gray triggerfish, red snapper and black sea bass. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Red snapper
Red snapper school over rigs, wrecks, artificial reefs and natural ledges, mostly in 60 to 250 feet. Anchor or drift over the structure, chum, and drop cut or live cigar minnows, sardines or squid on circle hooks, using as little weight as the current allows. Federal rules require circle hooks with natural bait in the Gulf and a descending device or venting tool on board.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Thorofare

    Gut · 1.9 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

  • Williams Slough

    Bay · 1.7 mi

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

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

  • Long Point Pond

    Bay · 1.9 mi

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

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

  • Wells Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

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

    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.