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Red grouperShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Spot60
- Atlantic croaker58
- Crevalle jack55
- King mackerel55
- Gray snapper54
- Atlantic tarpon50
- Spotted seatrout50
- Black drum49
- Red drum49
- Black sea bass48
- Southern flounder48
- Summer flounder48
- Florida pompano47
- Spanish mackerel46
- Sheepshead45
- Red snapper44
- Little tunny42
- Gag grouper41
- Gray triggerfish41
- Weakfish41
- Red grouper40
- Cobia38
- Greater amberjack36
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 1 AM · Red grouper
- Now
- 403 AM EDT
- Best window
- 5-11 AMHigh slack
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Middletown Anchorage 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
Saturday, Oct 3 · 7 PM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
76Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
95Wind: 6 kt SEPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
100Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: DuskSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Red grouper
Species seasonality
45Season: ShoulderHabitat: 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
Shoulder season for Red grouper · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Middletown Anchorage
- Depth
- 6-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Middletown Anchorage
Middletown Anchorage is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are spot, Atlantic croaker and crevalle jack. It is peak season now for spot, Atlantic croaker, crevalle jack and king mackerel, and shoulder season for black drum, black sea bass, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from August 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.
- 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
- Lone Tree Creek60
Bay · 4.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 60
- Atlantic tarpon 58
- Atlantic croaker 56
13 kt NNEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ft
- Back Creek57
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 57
- Atlantic croaker 56
- Spot 56
13 kt NNEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ft
- Berrys Bay54
Bay · 4.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 54
- Spot 54
- Atlantic tarpon 51
13 kt NNEL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ftH 8:03 AM · 0.6 ft
- Gibbs Shoal49
Bar · 2.1 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 49
- Spot 49
- Florida pompano 47
13 kt NNEL 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.