Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishRetention open

Bay · Florida

Lyons Bay

27.12°N · 82.46°W · Bay · Tampa Bay waters

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Best score today · 6 PM · Gray triggerfish

81/100Great
Now
6012 PM EST
Best window
5-8 PMFlood tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.7 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 12 PM · now

Time12PNOW
Score60Good
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
CurrentEbb0.6 kn · toward S
Wind9 kn ESEgusts 21 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.9 ft · 4 s
Air temp83°Hot
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water78°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 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

Lyons Bay

Depth
2-6 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · ProtectedBay · 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 Lyons Bay

Lyons Bay is a bay in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 2-6 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Spanish mackerel, common snook and red drum. It is peak season now for Spanish mackerel, red drum, spotted seatrout and Florida pompano, and shoulder season for common snook, king mackerel, gray snapper and black drum. Spanish mackerel peak from April 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.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.
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

  • Venice Inlet

    Bay · 0.7 mi

    80
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 80
    • Common snook 73
    • King mackerel 72

    9 kt ESEL 2:18 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:53 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Roberts Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    75
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 75
    • Common snook 70
    • Red drum 70

    9 kt ESEL 2:18 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:53 PM · 1.7 ft

  • Blackburn Bay

    Bay · 1.9 mi

    75
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 75
    • Common snook 70
    • Red drum 69

    8 kt ESEL 1:50 PM · 0.5 ftH 8:48 PM · 1.5 ft

  • Eagle Point

    Cape · 1.3 mi

    71
    Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season
    • Spanish mackerel 71
    • Common snook 68
    • Red drum 68

    9 kt ESEL 2:18 PM · 0.4 ftH 8:53 PM · 1.7 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.