Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Bar · Florida

Sanibel Rocks

26.44°N · 82.13°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Gray triggerfish

80/100Great
Now
699 AM EDT
Best window
9-11 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding1.9 ft ▲

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score69Great
Tide1.9 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.9 kn · toward WSW
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 10 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.3 ft · 4 s
Air temp82°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy66% chance of rain
Water83°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 yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gray triggerfish is best here

Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 9 more weeks at shoulder

Gray triggerfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 9 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray triggerfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Sanibel Rocks

Depth
4-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · 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 Sanibel Rocks

Sanibel Rocks is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, common snook and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for gray snapper, common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, king mackerel and gag grouper. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April 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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
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.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Coral Creek Inlet

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    82
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 82
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Red drum 75

    5 kt ESEH 10:26 AM · 2.7 ftL 5:10 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Tarpon Bay

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    81
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 81
    • Gray snapper 77
    • Atlantic croaker 76

    3 kt EH 11:42 AM · 2.5 ftL 6:37 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Long Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    76
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 76
    • Gray snapper 73
    • Red drum 72

    5 kt ESEH 12:04 PM · 2.3 ftL 7:50 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Saint James Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    76
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 76
    • Gray snapper 73
    • Red drum 72

    3 kt EH 11:23 AM · 2.8 ftL 6:19 PM · 0.6 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.