Waterlands

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Red grouperShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Clam Shoal

35.30°N · 75.65°W · Bar · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 6 AM · Red grouper

70/100Great
Now
419 PM EDT
Best window
9-11 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.7 ft ▼

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 PM · now

Time9PNOW
Score41Fair
Tide1.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentSlack0.2 kn
Wind21 kn NEgusts 28 · building
Sea stateModerate3.5 ft · 5 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherOvercast80% chance of rain
Water80°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

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.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Red grouper is best here

Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Clam Shoal

Depth
1-2 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 Clam Shoal

Clam Shoal is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-2 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and king mackerel. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, king mackerel and gray snapper, and shoulder season for black drum, red snapper, black sea bass and gray triggerfish. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. King mackerel peak in May and from September 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

  • Log Shoal

    Bar · 1.6 mi

    55
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 55
    • Atlantic croaker 52
    • Spot 52

    21 kt NEL 11:41 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:33 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Brooks Point

    Cape · 3.6 mi

    54
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 54
    • Crevalle jack 52
    • Red snapper 45

    23 kt NEL 11:41 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:33 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Kings Channel

    Channel · 2.2 mi

    53
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 53
    • King mackerel 50
    • Black sea bass 48

    23 kt NEL 11:41 PM · 0.8 ftH 5:33 AM · 2.9 ft

  • Cape Channel

    Channel · 3.0 mi

    46
    Top: Florida pompanoShoulder season
    • Florida pompano 46
    • Crevalle jack 45
    • King mackerel 42

    23 kt NEL 3:48 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.4 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.