Grouper are one of the most popular fish in North Carolina. They can be found on all coastlines, but they're especially prevalent an hour or less off the Outer Banks and the Cape Fear area. There are seven species that can be targeted here, but there is little difference between their characteristics except for size; they all hide in holes and reefs.
Grouper fishing is one of the best inshore gamefish on North Carolina's coast (besides croaker, if you like small fish). They are very aggressive; they will strike anything you put in front of them on any given day. On calm days it can be extremely easy to chum up a school and have a day filled with hooked up fish. However, on rough days they can be found suspended at 10 feet below the surface and nearly impossible to keep baits in their vicinity for long enough to hook them.
Grouper will eat almost anything you throw near them – squid, shrimp, mullet strips, cut bait—you name it. They are also one of the most delicious fish to eat. There are no grouper season closures in North Carolina, so they can be harvested year-round with a recreational fishing license.
Grouper is important to North Carolina's commercial fishing industry which landed over 1 million pounds of them in 2005 according to NOAA. Recreational fisherman have been known to damage reefs by breaking off large mouth or by dropping their weight into them as they "gig" for the fish with a stick. However, most anglers practice catch and release, so this is only thought to be a minor nuisance.
Grouper are currently not listed as an overfished species according to NOAA , but this could change if the pressure of recreational fisherman continues.
Grouper can be found anywhere that has deep holes or pinnacles, but they are most prevalent along the Cape Hatteras coast and an hour off the Outer Banks. They prefer inshore waters where food is abundant and so groups of them school together for protection from larger predators.
Grouper are hardy fish. They can withstand colder water temperatures than most other saltwater species off North Carolina's coast because they thrive in the deep, where the water is generally much cooler.
The red grouper (pictured above) is probably one of the most sought after species by recreational fisherman because it so large and abundant near North Carolina. The state record is over 50lbs, but most are caught well under 20 lbs.
With red grouper you can either chum up a school or find them suspending below the surface. This species tends to take more time to respond to chumming because they are further away from it than other species of grouper. They usually stay below the surface up to 30 feet deep. Once you find them, trout or mackerel strips are good options for your chum slick because these grouper prefer their food alive.
Another species that responds well to chumming is the yellowmouth grouper (pictured above). They can be found suspended in deeper water up to 100 feet below the surface. They can be very easy to chum up, but they are also large and aggressive so they will take big baits quickly. This species is also know for breaking off in the rocks around reefs when using wire trace or heavier setups.
The scamp (pictured above) is another sought after grouper because of its size and abundance. The state record is over 30 lbs, but they are caught mostly under 10 lbs. These fish will also take your chum slick by storm; they school very close to the surface and can be seen swimming around like chickens with their heads cut off.
When it comes to catching grouper there are two things you should remember:
1) always have a stringer of fresh bait on the bottom
2) have alternative baits ready in case your first few choices are not successful.
The grouper's preference for its meals alive is why you should always have a stringer of small bait fish at the ready. Grouper will grab these immediately, so if they are not interested in anything you have on the bottom, at least you will not be fishing for hours with nothing to show for it.
I made the mistake of only having squid and cut bait in my boat one day when I found a well chummed up school of grouper—they showed interest in everything im threw at them except what I had prepared for them. I had to cut some of the bigger squid off the hook and use them as live bait.
Grouper are very hard fighters on light tackle, even when they are small. It is not uncommon to feel a grouper thrashing about in your net and then completely break off after it has been brought aboard. To avoid this you should always wet your hands before landing one to decrease the friction of the scales. A pair of pliers also works well for this task, but be careful that you don't jam them in its eyes when trying to release it back into the water.
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