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Gray triggerfishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 4 PM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 499 AM CST
- Best window
- 3-7 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Goat Bayou 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 9 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
48Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
87Wind: 2 kt NEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
88Water temp: 75°F, primeLight: OvercastSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 1.0 ftSeason & habitat · Gray triggerfish
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
Gray triggerfish
Retention open- Daily limit
- 1 per day
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 15 in, fork length
- Season
- Aug 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Jan 1
- Other
- Private-vessel anglers need the State Reef Fish Angler designation. Reef fish gear rules apply. Land with head and fins intact. Gulf season is March 1 through May 31 and August 1 through December 31. Federal waters can close early if the quota is met.
From FWC Recreational Regulations: Gray Triggerfish, read Sep 13
Other species here
- Atlantic croaker Retention open
- Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
- Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
- Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
- Crevalle jack Retention open
- Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
- Gag grouper Closed (No retention)
- Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
- Greater amberjack Closed (No retention)
- King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Permit Retention open (2 per day)
- Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
- Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
- Red snapper Closed (No retention)
- Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
- Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
- Snook Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Closed (No retention)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
- Summer flounder Closed (No retention)
- Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
- Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Source: FWC · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray triggerfish is best here
Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 3 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Goat Bayou
- Depth
- 2-5 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · flat bottom
- Season
- Shoulder seasonGray triggerfish
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 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 Goat Bayou
Goat Bayou is a bay in Perdido Bay Area, Alabama. Depth is 2-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are southern flounder, red drum and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for southern flounder, red drum, spotted seatrout and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for black drum, king mackerel, sheepshead and gray snapper. Southern flounder peak from October through November. Red drum peak from September through November. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November.
Tackle & technique
- Gray triggerfish
- Gray triggerfish hover a few feet over reefs, wrecks and ledges, usually in 60 to 200 feet, and often show up while snapper fishing. Use small, strong circle hooks with small pieces of squid or cut bait on a short bottom rig, because they nibble and strip big baits. Keep the bait just off the bottom and reel steadily at the first solid pull.
- Southern flounder
- Flounder lie half buried on soft bottom along marsh edges, creek mouths, dock pilings and the sandy sides of passes, usually in 1 to 15 feet of water. Drag a mud minnow or finger mullet on a Carolina rig, or bump a soft plastic slowly along the bottom, and give the fish a few seconds before setting the hook. In fall the adults stack up at passes and jetties on their way offshore, and many anglers gig them at night in knee-deep water.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Old River69
Gut · 0.6 mi
Top: Southern flounderPeak season- Southern flounder 69
- Spotted seatrout 67
- Red drum 66
2 kt NEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Bellville Bay67
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 67
- Southern flounder 65
- Spotted seatrout 64
2 kt NEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Old River67
Bay · 1.4 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 67
- Southern flounder 65
- Spotted seatrout 64
2 kt NEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 0.6 ft
- Goat Point62
Cape · 0.2 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 62
- Gag grouper 61
- Southern flounder 60
2 kt NEL 12:05 PM · 0.3 ftH 9:10 PM · 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 FWC before you keep a fish.