Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Gray triggerfishRetention open

Channel · Florida

Hell Gate

26.54°N · 82.07°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 10 PM · Gray triggerfish

82/100Great
Now
564 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

Notify me when Hell Gate scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: Mon · 83

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 4 PM · now

Time4PNOW
Score56Good
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.9 kn · toward E
Wind3 kn Egusts 12 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.5 ft · 4 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherOvercast95% chance of rain
Water86°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

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 Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • 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 Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Snook Catch & release (No retention)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gray triggerfish is best here

Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 10 more weeks at shoulder

Gray triggerfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 10 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray triggerfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Hell Gate

Depth
6-10 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · ProtectedChannel · flat bottom
Season
Shoulder seasonGray triggerfish

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 Hell Gate

Hell Gate is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 6-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, Atlantic croaker, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, permit, crevalle jack and southern flounder. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Gray snapper peak from June through September.

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.
Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
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

View all on map →
  • Second Mouth

    Channel · 0.9 mi

    79
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 79
    • Common snook 78
    • Atlantic croaker 76

    3 kt EL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Punta Blanca Bay

    Bay · 1.7 mi

    79
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 79
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 72

    3 kt EL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Manatee Bay

    Bay · 0.5 mi

    78
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 78
    • Gray snapper 76
    • Red drum 75

    3 kt EL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ft

  • Oyster Creek

    Bay · 1.1 mi

    77
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 77
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 72

    3 kt EL 6:48 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:36 AM · 1.7 ft

Open in the tide map

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.