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Gray triggerfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker74
- Common snook74
- Atlantic tarpon72
- Gray snapper70
- Red drum69
- Black drum63
- Southern flounder63
- Permit60
- Crevalle jack58
- Gag grouper58
- Red snapper58
- Spotted seatrout57
- Gray triggerfish55
- Red grouper55
- Spanish mackerel52
- Florida pompano50
- Greater amberjack50
- King mackerel50
- Cobia46
- Sheepshead35
Best score today · 11 PM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 5510 PM EDT
- Best window
- 10 PM-12 AMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.0 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Tampa Bay Channel scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 10 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
100Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.4 kn floodWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 3 kt EPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 89°F, hotLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 0.3 ftSeason & habitat · Gray triggerfish
Species seasonality
45Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)
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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray triggerfish is best here
Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 9 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Tampa Bay Channel
- Depth
- 10-15 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Channel · Inner · Semi-exposedChannel · 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 Tampa Bay Channel
Tampa Bay Channel is a channel in Tampa Bay waters, Florida. Depth is 10-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads channel, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, common snook and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, common snook, gray snapper and red drum, and shoulder season for Atlantic tarpon, black drum, southern flounder and permit. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Atlantic tarpon peak from May through July.
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
- Big Bayou72
Bay · 3.2 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 68
6 kt ENEH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 AM · 1.4 ft
- Little Bayou72
Bay · 3.6 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 72
- Atlantic croaker 70
- Common snook 68
6 kt ENEH 1:30 AM · 1.7 ftL 5:56 AM · 1.2 ft
- Tampa Bay71
Bay · 1.2 mi
Top: Common snookPeak season- Common snook 71
- Atlantic croaker 68
- Gray snapper 67
3 kt EH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 AM · 1.4 ft
- Smacks Bayou68
Bay · 4.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Red drum 68
- Common snook 67
3 kt EH 1:52 AM · 1.9 ftL 6:25 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.