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Best score today · 7 PM · Red grouper

74/100Great

Now: 4811 AM EDT
Best window: 4-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now: Ebbing1.1 ft ▼

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 11 AM · now

DRAG OR TAP AN HOUR

Time11ANOW

Score48Good

Tide1.1 ft ▼Ebbing

Current0.1 knmodeled · toward S

Wind10 kn NNEgusts 23 · steady

Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 5 s

Air temp75°Warm

WeatherOvercast100% cloud

Water82°FObserved

WED · SEP 23

THU · SEP 24

8A

9A

10A

NOW

12P

1P

2P

3P

4P

5P

6P

7P

8P

9P

10P

11P

12A

1A

2A

3A

4A

5A

6A

7A

59

58

54

48

40

50

55

56

54

46

54

59

54

52

51

38

41

49

52

53

50

43

49

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

0.2

199

209

2210

2310

2410

2310

239

229

219

209

199

2010

2.7

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

2.6

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.4

31%

39%

43%

39%

33%

82°

81°

Hour

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 SCDNR before you keep a fish.

Always check with SCDNR ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: SCDNR · 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

Red grouper in South Carolina →

Spot profile

Long Bay

Depth: 25-30 ftFlat bottom
Structure: Bay · Outer · 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 Long Bay

Long Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Little River Inlet to Murrells Inlet SC out 20 NM, South Carolina. Depth is 25-30 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 28 species here; the best right now are crevalle jack, king mackerel and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for crevalle jack, king mackerel, Atlantic croaker and spot, and shoulder season for mahi-mahi, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and gray triggerfish. Crevalle jack peak from July through October. 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.
Crevalle jack: Jacks roam in schools through inlets, passes, bays, river mouths and along beaches, pushing bait to the surface, and big fish also hold on nearshore reefs and wrecks. Watch for birds and surface blowups, then cast a popper, a spoon or a bucktail into the school and retrieve fast. Bring heavy spinning tackle, because a jack over 15 pounds runs hard and fights for a long time.
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.