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Gray triggerfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook82
- Red drum78
- Gray snapper73
- Southern flounder72
- Atlantic croaker68
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Crevalle jack65
- Permit62
- Spanish mackerel62
- Spotted seatrout61
- Florida pompano59
- Cobia57
- King mackerel56
- Greater amberjack54
- Black drum51
- Red snapper51
- Gag grouper50
- Gray triggerfish48
- Red grouper48
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 4811 PM EDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Old Tom 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 · 11 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
63Tide: FloodingCurrent: 2.1 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 3 kt ESEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
62Water temp: 84°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeas: 0.7 ftSeason & habitat · Gray triggerfish
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
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 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)
Source: FWC · synced today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray triggerfish is best here
Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 9 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Old Tom Bayou
- Depth
- 2-6 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 Old Tom Bayou
Old Tom Bayou is a bay in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and gray snapper. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and permit. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. 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.
- 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
- Patricio Shoal82
Bar · 0.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 82
- Gray snapper 73
- Red drum 71
3 kt ESEH 1:32 AM · 1.3 ftL 5:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Little Bokeelia Bay81
Bay · 1.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 81
- Atlantic croaker 76
- Gray snapper 75
3 kt ESEH 1:32 AM · 1.3 ftL 5:12 AM · 1.1 ft
- Punta Blanca78
Cape · 1.5 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 78
- Gray snapper 68
- Red drum 68
3 kt ESEH 12:17 AM · 1.3 ftL 4:22 AM · 1.1 ft
- Jug Creek Shoal77
Bar · 1.7 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 77
- Atlantic croaker 71
- Gray snapper 71
3 kt ESEH 1:32 AM · 1.3 ftL 5:12 AM · 1.1 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.