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Red grouperOff seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spot69
- Atlantic croaker68
- Florida pompano67
- Little tunny60
- Red drum59
- Weakfish59
- Black sea bass57
- Bluefish56
- Spotted seatrout56
- Gag grouper53
- Summer flounder53
- Southern flounder52
- Black drum51
- Sheepshead51
- Striped bass50
- Red snapper46
- King mackerel41
- Crevalle jack40
- Greater amberjack37
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Gray snapper35
- Gray triggerfish35
- Red grouper35
- Spanish mackerel35
- Cobia29
Best score today · 6 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 352 PM EST
- Best window
- 4-8 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High3.7 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Calico 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
Thursday, Nov 5 · 8 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
95Tide: EbbingCurrent: 1.1 kn ebbWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 5 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 66°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 2.8 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
25Off season · capped at 35Season: Off seasonHabitat: 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 yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Red grouper is best here
Out of season for Red grouper · shoulder season starts in 26 weeks
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Calico Bay
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · flat bottom
- Season
- Off 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 Calico Bay
Calico Bay is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spot, Atlantic croaker and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Florida pompano, little tunny, red drum and weakfish, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, summer flounder and black drum. Spot peak 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 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Crab Point Thorofare72
Channel · 0.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 72
- Spot 69
- Florida pompano 63
7 kt ENEL 8:18 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:27 AM · 3.3 ft
- Calico Creek70
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: SpotShoulder season- Spot 70
- Atlantic croaker 69
- Florida pompano 68
7 kt ENEL 8:18 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:27 AM · 3.3 ft
- Crab Point Bay69
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Spot 69
- Red drum 68
7 kt ENEL 8:18 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:27 AM · 3.3 ft
- Willis Point63
Cape · 0.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerShoulder season- Atlantic croaker 63
- Florida pompano 63
- Little tunny 63
7 kt ENEL 8:18 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:27 AM · 3.3 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.