Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Bar · Florida

Long Bar

27.85°N · 82.46°W · Bar · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 8 AM · Gray triggerfish

72/100Great
Now
569 AM EDT
Best window
9-10 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.5 ft ▲

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 9 AM · now

Time9ANOW
Score56Good
Tide2.5 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentSlack0.1 kn
Wind4 kn Egusts 8 · steady
Sea stateCalm0.1 ft · 4 s
Air temp75°Warm
WeatherPartly cloudy48% cloud
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)

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

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

Long Bar

Depth
3-9 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bar · Inner · Semi-exposedBar · 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 Long Bar

Long Bar is a bar in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 3-9 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bar, inner water and semi-exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are common snook, gray snapper and Atlantic croaker. It is peak season now for common snook, gray snapper, Atlantic croaker and red drum, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Atlantic tarpon, Florida pompano and black drum. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Gray snapper peak from June through September. 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.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Hillsborough Channel

    Channel · 1.3 mi

    77
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 77
    • Atlantic croaker 76
    • Gray snapper 73

    4 kt EH 10:39 AM · 2.7 ftL 6:32 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Catfish Point

    Cape · 0.4 mi

    74
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 74
    • Common snook 72
    • Atlantic tarpon 69

    4 kt EH 10:39 AM · 2.7 ftL 6:32 PM · 0.4 ft

  • Hillsborough Bay

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Common snook 72
    • Gray snapper 65

    4 kt EH 10:38 AM · 2.6 ftL 6:31 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Long Shoal

    Bar · 1.5 mi

    72
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 72
    • Gray snapper 68
    • Atlantic croaker 67

    4 kt EH 10:39 AM · 2.7 ftL 6:32 PM · 0.4 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.