Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Channel · Florida

Wulfert Channel

26.49°N · 82.18°W · Channel · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

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Best score today · 2 AM · Gray triggerfish

78/100Great
Now
542 PM EST
Best window
4-7 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding0.6 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions

Monday, Nov 9 · 2 AM

Time2A
Score55Good
Tide1.3 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb1.1 kn · toward WSW
Wind10 kn Ngusts 17 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.8 ft · 3 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy61% cloud
Water80°FModel

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 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 · 4 more weeks at shoulder

Gray triggerfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 4 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray triggerfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Wulfert Channel

Depth
1-4 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Wulfert Channel

Wulfert Channel is a channel in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and spotted seatrout. It is peak season now for red drum, spotted seatrout, Florida pompano and Spanish mackerel, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, king mackerel and gray snapper. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
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

  • Coral Creek Inlet

    Bay · 2.7 mi

    73
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 73
    • Florida pompano 71
    • Common snook 70

    13 kt EH 7:49 PM · 2.1 ftL 1:04 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Long Point

    Cape · 3.1 mi

    63
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 63
    • Common snook 61
    • Red drum 61

    13 kt EL 3:20 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:19 PM · 1.6 ft

  • Chadwick Bayou

    Bay · 2.9 mi

    62
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 62
    • Spotted seatrout 59
    • Spanish mackerel 58

    13 kt EH 9:58 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:38 AM · 1.3 ft

  • Buck Key Channel

    Channel · 1.3 mi

    61
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 61
    • Red drum 61
    • Spotted seatrout 61

    13 kt EH 9:58 PM · 1.6 ftL 2:38 AM · 1.3 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.