Waterlands

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Red grouperShoulder season

Bar · North Carolina

Gull Shoal

35.37°N · 75.98°W · Bar · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 8 AM · Red grouper

67/100Great
Now
5312 AM EDT
Best window
6-10 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Ebbing0.6 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 AM · now

Time12ANOW
Score53Good
Tide0.6 ft ▼Ebbing
Current1.0 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind13 kn NEgusts 22 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherOvercast38% 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.

Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday

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

Gull Shoal

Depth
8-15 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 Gull Shoal

Gull Shoal is a bar in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 8-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, inner water and semi-exposed.

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

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Gull Rocks

    Bar · 2.0 mi

    74
    Top: King mackerelPeak season
    • King mackerel 74
    • Gray snapper 72
    • Red snapper 65

    13 kt NEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Hillerys Cove

    Bay · 3.8 mi

    69
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Crevalle jack 69
    • Gray snapper 69

    13 kt NEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Hog Island Shoal

    Bar · 3.9 mi

    65
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 65
    • King mackerel 65
    • Atlantic croaker 64

    13 kt NEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ft

  • Bensons Point

    Cape · 4.6 mi

    64
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • King mackerel 64
    • Spot 64

    13 kt NEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 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.