Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Channel · Florida

Beacon Pass

27.68°N · 82.53°W · Channel · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 9 PM · Gray triggerfish

85/100Epic
Now
562 AM EST
Best window
8-10 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.8 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 2 AM · now

Time2ANOW
Score56Good
Tide0.8 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.5 kn · toward SW
Wind5 kn Egusts 9 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 3 s
Air temp72°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy59% cloud
Water76°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 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 · 3 more weeks at shoulder

Gray triggerfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 3 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray triggerfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Beacon Pass

Depth
Up to 3 ftNearest water
Structure
Pass · Inner · Semi-exposedPass · 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 Beacon Pass

Beacon Pass is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth in the nearest water is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads pass, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are spotted seatrout, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for spotted seatrout, red drum, Spanish mackerel and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, black drum, gray snapper and king mackerel. Spotted seatrout peak from March through May and from October through November. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Red drum peak from September 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.
Spotted seatrout
Trout hold over grass beds and sandy potholes in 2 to 8 feet of water most of the year and slide into channels, deep creek bends and canals during cold snaps. A live shrimp under a slip or popping cork, a paddle tail on a light jighead, or a topwater walked at first light covers most situations. Keep the drag light because their mouths tear easily.
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

  • South Stop

    Bay · 0.3 mi

    77
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 77
    • Red drum 76
    • Common snook 68

    5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Big Cockroach Pass

    Channel · 0.4 mi

    76
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 76
    • Spotted seatrout 76
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Cockroach Channel

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    76
    Top: Spotted seatroutPeak season
    • Spotted seatrout 76
    • Common snook 74
    • Red drum 73

    5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 ft

  • Hole in the Wall Pass

    Channel · 0.8 mi

    76
    Top: Common snookShoulder season
    • Common snook 76
    • Spotted seatrout 76
    • Spanish mackerel 74

    5 kt EL 4:37 AM · 0.5 ftH 9:53 AM · 1.4 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.