Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Bay · Florida

East Bay

27.92°N · 82.43°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 11 PM · Gray triggerfish

74/100Great
Now
555 PM EDT
Best window
9 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing1.0 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 5 PM · now

Time5PNOW
Score55Good
Tide1.0 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.2 kn · toward S
Wind1 kn WNWgusts 10 · building
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 5 s
Air temp84°Hot
WeatherOvercast80% chance of rain
Water86°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 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 (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)

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

East Bay

Depth
30-40 ftSlope
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · slope
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 East Bay

East Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 30-40 ft, with a slope. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and gray snapper. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack, permit and Spanish mackerel. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. 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.
Atlantic croaker
Croaker feed on mud and sand bottom along channel edges, oyster bars, piers and deeper holes in bays and sounds, mostly in 5 to 30 feet of water. A two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and shrimp, bloodworm or squid catches them from piers, the surf and small boats. Fish the hours around high tide and into the evening.
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

  • Sparkman Channel

    Channel · 1.4 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Gray snapper 69

    1 kt WNWL 7:10 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:33 AM · 2.5 ft

  • McKay Bay

    Bay · 1.2 mi

    71
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 71
    • Atlantic croaker 69
    • Gray snapper 68

    1 kt WNWL 7:10 PM · 0.4 ftH 1:33 AM · 2.5 ft

  • Pendola Point

    Cape · 1.4 mi

    69
    Top: Gray snapperPeak season
    • Gray snapper 69
    • Common snook 67
    • Gag grouper 66

    1 kt WNWL 7:09 PM · 0.5 ftH 2:13 AM · 2.2 ft

  • Black Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    67
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 67
    • Atlantic croaker 64
    • Gray snapper 64

    1 kt WNWL 7:08 PM · 0.5 ftH 1:32 AM · 2.4 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.