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Red grouperOff seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spot72
- Atlantic croaker71
- Red drum70
- Spotted seatrout70
- Weakfish67
- Southern flounder66
- Black drum59
- Florida pompano57
- Bluefish56
- Black sea bass55
- Summer flounder54
- Little tunny52
- Gag grouper51
- Red snapper48
- Sheepshead47
- Striped bass46
- King mackerel40
- Crevalle jack37
- Atlantic tarpon35
- Gray triggerfish35
- Greater amberjack35
- Red grouper35
- Gray snapper34
- Cobia32
- Spanish mackerel30
Best score today · 3 PM · Red grouper
- Now
- 355 AM EST
- Best window
- 1-6 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding0.7 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Back Creek 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
Monday, Nov 16 · 6 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
93Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
94Wind: 9 kt NWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
83Water temp: 66°F, coolLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
16Off 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
Back Creek
- Depth
- 1-2 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Back Creek
Back Creek is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 25 species here; the best right now are spot, Atlantic croaker and red drum. It is peak season now for red drum, spotted seatrout, weakfish and southern flounder, and shoulder season for spot, Atlantic croaker, black drum and summer flounder. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Red drum peak from August 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
- Middletown Anchorage75
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: SpotShoulder season- Spot 75
- Atlantic croaker 73
- Spotted seatrout 67
6 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft
- Lone Tree Creek72
Bay · 3.0 mi
Top: SpotShoulder season- Spot 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Red drum 70
6 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft
- Hillerys Cove72
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: SpotShoulder season- Spot 72
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Weakfish 68
6 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 ft
- Gibbs Shoal65
Bar · 3.1 mi
Top: SpotShoulder season- Spot 65
- Atlantic croaker 64
- Florida pompano 63
6 kt NEH 5:16 AM · 0.7 ftL 11:59 AM · 0.2 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.