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Gray triggerfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 7 PM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 608 AM CST
- Best window
- 5-11 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.6 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Joes Bayou 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
Saturday, Nov 14 · 3 AM
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
100Tide: EbbingWind & pressure
ECMWF
54Wind: 14 kt EPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
52Water temp: 74°F, primeLight: NightSolunar: Major periodSeason & habitat · Gray triggerfish
Species seasonality
45Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of range
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 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 · 4 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Joes Bayou
- Depth
- 5-10 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · ProtectedEstuary · 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 Joes Bayou
Joes Bayou is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 5-10 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are red drum, Spanish mackerel and king mackerel. It is peak season now for red drum, Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano and spotted seatrout, and shoulder season for king mackerel, gray triggerfish, red grouper and gray snapper. Red drum peak from September through November. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November. King mackerel peak in May and in October.
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.
- Red drum
- Redfish feed on shallow grass flats, oyster bars and marsh edges, often in 1 to 4 feet of water, and drop into channels, deep holes and tidal creeks when the water turns very hot or cold. Work a live shrimp under a popping cork or a soft plastic along the grass line on a rising tide, then fish creek mouths and drains as the tide falls. Bull reds over 30 inches school in the surf, passes and jetties in late summer and fall, where cut mullet or a live crab on the bottom is the standard approach.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- East Pass78
Channel · 2.0 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 78
- King mackerel 71
- Red drum 69
8 kt ENEL 2:54 PM · 0.1 ftH 4:52 AM · 0.7 ft
- Destin Harbor75
Bay · 1.5 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 75
- King mackerel 72
- Florida pompano 67
8 kt ENEL 2:54 PM · 0.1 ftH 4:52 AM · 0.7 ft
- Marler Bayou73
Bay · 0.8 mi
Top: Red drumPeak season- Red drum 73
- Spanish mackerel 69
- King mackerel 65
8 kt ENEL 2:54 PM · 0.1 ftH 4:52 AM · 0.7 ft
- Cobbs Point69
Cape · 0.6 mi
Top: Spanish mackerelPeak season- Spanish mackerel 69
- King mackerel 65
- Red drum 64
8 kt ENEL 2:54 PM · 0.1 ftH 4:52 AM · 0.7 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.