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Red grouperShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker78
- Spot77
- Crevalle jack75
- Red drum75
- Atlantic tarpon74
- Southern flounder70
- Summer flounder70
- King mackerel69
- Spotted seatrout68
- Gray snapper67
- Black drum65
- Florida pompano61
- Black sea bass60
- Cobia60
- Gray triggerfish60
- Red snapper60
- Gag grouper59
- Spanish mackerel59
- Weakfish59
- Red grouper58
- Sheepshead57
- Greater amberjack54
- Little tunny54
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 10 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 584 PM EDT
- Best window
- 4 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.4 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Hawkins 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 4 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 8 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
71Water temp: 81°F, warmLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.5 ftSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
43Season: 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
Hawkins Bay
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Hawkins Bay
Hawkins Bay is a bay in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 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 crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, black sea bass and cobia. 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
- West Channel81
Channel · 0.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 81
- Spot 78
- Atlantic tarpon 77
8 kt ENEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 ft
- East Channel81
Channel · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 81
- Spot 78
- Atlantic tarpon 77
8 kt ENEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 ft
- Main Channel80
Channel · 1.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 80
- Spot 77
- Atlantic tarpon 74
8 kt ENEH 5:30 PM · 2.5 ftL 11:56 PM · 0.6 ft
- Robinson Point75
Cape · 2.1 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 75
- Atlantic tarpon 74
- Atlantic croaker 72
8 kt ENEH 7:01 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:27 AM · 0.8 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.