Waterlands

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Red grouperShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Middletown Anchorage

35.48°N · 75.98°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 7 AM · Red grouper

82/100Great
Now
573 PM EDT
Best window
3 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.3 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 3 PM · now

Time3PNOW
Score57Good
Tide0.3 ft ▲Flooding
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward SSW
Wind10 kn ENEgusts 22 · building
Sea stateLight chop1.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp79°Warm
WeatherOvercast82% 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

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 sea bass, Florida pompano, sheepshead and black drum. 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 Creek

    Bay · 4.6 mi

    74
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 74
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 73

    10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Back Creek

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Crevalle jack 73
    • Spot 73

    10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Berrys Bay

    Bay · 4.1 mi

    71
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 71
    • Crevalle jack 71
    • Spot 70

    10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Gibbs Shoal

    Bar · 2.1 mi

    66
    Top: Crevalle jackPeak season
    • Crevalle jack 66
    • Florida pompano 66
    • King mackerel 66

    10 kt ENEH 8:21 PM · 0.7 ftL 3:23 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.