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Gray triggerfishRetention openBay · Florida
Sand Bay
28.21°N · 82.77°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM
Species here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Common snook76
- Red drum75
- Atlantic croaker73
- Gray snapper69
- Atlantic tarpon67
- Florida pompano67
- Southern flounder67
- Spanish mackerel67
- Crevalle jack66
- Permit66
- Black drum63
- Gag grouper61
- King mackerel60
- Red snapper58
- Spotted seatrout58
- Gray triggerfish57
- Red grouper57
- Cobia55
- Greater amberjack52
- Yellowfin tuna51
- Sailfish49
- Mahi-mahi44
- Wahoo44
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 7 AM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 579 AM EDT
- Best window
- 7-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding3.3 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sand Bay 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
98Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
70Water temp: 86°F, warmLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.5 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 Retention open (1 per day)
- Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
- Spot Retention open
- Spotted seatrout Retention open (5 per day)
- Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
- 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 · 9 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Sand Bay
- Depth
- 1-3 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Sand Bay
Sand Bay is a bay in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM, Florida. Depth is 1-3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, outer water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, red drum, Atlantic croaker and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano, southern flounder and Spanish mackerel. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September through November. Atlantic croaker peak from July 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
- Ben Pilot Point76
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Red drum 76
- Atlantic croaker 74
4 kt ENEH 10:35 AM · 3.8 ftL 6:00 PM · 0.7 ft
- Fillmans Creek76
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Red drum 76
- Atlantic croaker 74
4 kt ENEH 10:35 AM · 3.8 ftL 6:00 PM · 0.7 ft
- Big Bayou Point76
Cape · 2.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 76
- Atlantic croaker 74
- Red drum 72
4 kt ENEH 11:06 AM · 3.7 ftL 6:28 PM · 0.7 ft
- Big Bayou75
Bay · 2.3 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 75
- Red drum 73
- Atlantic croaker 70
4 kt ENEH 10:35 AM · 3.8 ftL 6:00 PM · 0.7 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.