Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Bay · Florida

Lemon Bay

26.96°N · 82.38°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 AM · Gray triggerfish

75/100Great
Now
437 AM EDT
Best window
7-11 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High1.6 ft

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

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 75

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score43Fair
Tide1.6 ftHigh
Current0.0 knmodeled · toward E
Wind4 kn ENEgusts 8 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.4 ft · 5 s
Air temp73°Warm
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water87°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 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 today

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gray triggerfish is best here

Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 10 more weeks at shoulder

Gray triggerfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 10 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray triggerfish in Florida →

Spot profile

Lemon Bay

Depth
2-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · 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 Lemon Bay

Lemon Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Atlantic tarpon, crevalle jack and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Florida pompano 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.
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

View all on map →
  • Deer Creek

    Bend · 2.3 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Common snook 65
    • Red drum 62

    4 kt ENEL 4:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:19 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Redfish Cove

    Bay · 2.5 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Common snook 64
    • Florida pompano 60

    4 kt ENEL 4:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:19 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Point of Pines

    Cape · 2.8 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Common snook 59
    • Gray snapper 55

    4 kt ENEL 4:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:19 AM · 1.5 ft

  • Cedar Point

    Cape · 3.4 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Common snook 59
    • Gray snapper 55

    4 kt ENEL 4:07 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:19 AM · 1.5 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.