Waterlands

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Red grouperShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Flounder Rock

35.10°N · 76.10°W · Bar · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 8 AM · Red grouper

78/100Great
Now
577 PM EDT
Best window
7 PM-12 AMNight bite
Tide now
Low0.8 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Saturday, Sep 19 · 9 AM

Time9A
Score60Good
Tide0.8 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward E
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 7 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.1 ft · 6 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy56% chance of rain
Water80°FBias corrected

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 · 6 more weeks at shoulder

Red grouper season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Red grouper · 6 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Red grouper in North Carolina

Spot profile

Flounder Rock

Depth
3-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Inner · Semi-exposedLedge · 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 Flounder Rock

Flounder Rock is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 3-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are king mackerel, gray snapper and red drum. It is peak season now for king mackerel, gray snapper, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, gag grouper, gray triggerfish and red snapper. King mackerel peak in May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
King mackerel
Kings roam from beaches and pier ends out to reefs, wrecks and ledges in 40 to 200 feet, usually feeding in the upper half of the water column. Slow-troll live menhaden, blue runners or cigar minnows on a light wire stinger rig, or pull spoons and ribbonfish past bait schools. Look for clean green water above 68 F with bait and birds on it.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Baymarsh Thorofare

    Gut · 2.7 mi

    77
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 77
    • Spotted seatrout 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 71

    3 kt SEH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ftL 6:51 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Mount Vernon Rock

    Bar · 1.4 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Spotted seatrout 70
    • King mackerel 69

    3 kt SEH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ftL 6:51 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Oyster Rocks

    Bar · 2.3 mi

    73
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 73
    • Gray snapper 70
    • Red drum 69

    3 kt SEH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ftL 6:51 AM · 0.7 ft

  • Haulover Point

    Cape · 2.6 mi

    69
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 69
    • Spotted seatrout 66
    • Crevalle jack 63

    3 kt SEH 12:55 AM · 1.5 ftL 6:51 AM · 0.7 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.