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Gray snapperPeak seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Spot73
- Red drum64
- Crevalle jack63
- Atlantic tarpon62
- King mackerel60
- Summer flounder59
- Florida pompano58
- Southern flounder58
- Spotted seatrout58
- Black drum55
- Gray snapper54
- Cobia50
- Gray triggerfish49
- Weakfish49
- Black sea bass48
- Gag grouper48
- Red snapper48
- Spanish mackerel48
- Red grouper47
- Sheepshead44
- Greater amberjack43
- Little tunny41
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 9 AM · Gray snapper
- Now
- 548 PM EDT
- Best window
- 8 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Big Gut 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
Sunday, Oct 4 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 6 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
91Water temp: 76°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Near a majorSeason & habitat · Gray snapper
Species seasonality
57Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
No rule for Gray snapper 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 Gray snapper is best here
Peak season for Gray snapper · 1 more week at peak
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Big Gut
- Depth
- About 1 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Peak seasonGray 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 Big Gut
Big Gut is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is about 1 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 red drum. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, red drum and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, cobia and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Red drum peak from August through November.
Tackle & technique
- Gray snapper
- Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
- 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
- Sanborns Gut74
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Spot 73
- Red drum 64
12 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 ft
- Deep Gut74
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Spot 73
- Red drum 64
12 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 ft
- Turnagain Bay74
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 74
- Spot 73
- Red drum 64
12 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 ft
- Hog Point69
Cape · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 68
- Red drum 64
12 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 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.