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Red grouperShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker72
- Spot70
- Florida pompano59
- Crevalle jack57
- Atlantic tarpon56
- Summer flounder56
- Gray snapper54
- King mackerel54
- Black sea bass50
- Red drum50
- Black drum49
- Weakfish46
- Sheepshead45
- Gag grouper44
- Gray triggerfish44
- Red snapper44
- Red grouper43
- Spanish mackerel42
- Greater amberjack39
- Little tunny39
- Cobia35
- Bluefish32
- Southern flounder30
- Spotted seatrout30
Best score today · 5 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 435 PM EDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High3.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Knotts Island Channel 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 5 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
39Tide: High slackCurrent: 0.3 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
83Wind: 12 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
73Water temp: 78°F, warmLight: Late afternoonSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 3.0 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
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
Knotts Island Channel
- Depth
- 2-4 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 Knotts Island Channel
Knotts Island Channel is a channel in Currituck Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 2-4 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 Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black sea bass, black drum and weakfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Florida pompano peak from March through April and from October through November.
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
- Porpoise Slough72
Gut · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Spot 70
- Florida pompano 59
12 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 0.9 ftH 5:46 AM · 3.4 ft
- Knotts Island Bay69
Bay · 1.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Florida pompano 59
12 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 0.9 ftH 5:46 AM · 3.4 ft
- Sandy Cove69
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Florida pompano 63
12 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 0.9 ftH 5:46 AM · 3.4 ft
- Cason Point64
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 64
- Spot 64
- Florida pompano 59
12 kt ENEL 11:36 PM · 0.9 ftH 5:46 AM · 3.4 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.