the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the star-studded grouper
how to recognize it
Adults are dark brown, with no markings. Juveniles are dark reddish-brown, with white spots in a grid pattern, a dark saddle-shaped mark on the caudal peduncle, light pectoral and caudal fins, and dark anal and pelvic fins. There is a black groove on the maxilla. Compare it with the olive grouper (Hyporthodus cifuentesi), which is paler brown with a greenish sheen, and with the dark grouper (Hyporthodus exsul), whose juveniles have many white spots but no grid pattern.
Also called: garoupa-cravejada, garoupa, mero manchado, star-studded grouper
don't confuse with:
We don't have tips on season, bait or technique for this species yet.
where found
open on the large mapWhere to look: Rocky reefs and soft bottoms, 50 to 130 m deep.
Lives in the eastern Pacific, from southern California, United States, to Peru, passing through Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Ecuador.
rules for the star-studded grouper
Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
estimated weight
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how we calculate
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01318, b = 3.04; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa pelo gênero e formato do corpo)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
more about the star-studded grouper
The starry grouper is a fish of the family Epinephelidae and reaches 48 cm. It lives in the eastern Pacific, from southern California, United States, to Peru, on rocky reefs and soft bottoms, 50 to 130 m deep. Adults are dark brown without spots, and juveniles have white spots forming a grid on the body and dorsal fin. It is caught for subsistence and often falls into shrimp trawl nets in the central Gulf of California. It is too rare to interest the trade, and it appears on sport fishing lines now and then.
Family: Epinephelidae · predator
fun facts
- Some authors have confused it with the snowy grouper (Hyporthodus niveatus).
in the kitchen
It is caught for subsistence, that is, for the consumption of whoever catches it.
similar species
sources and references (2)
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Hyporthodus niphobles (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Hyporthodus niphoblesNames by country and language.
how we calculatewhere each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: