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Gray triggerfishRetention openSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 4212 PM CDT
- Best window
- 12-9 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High0.8 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when John 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 · rolling from now
Conditions · 12 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
34Tide: High slackCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
58Water temp: 87°F, hotLight: OvercastSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 0.6 ftSeason & habitat · Gray triggerfish
Species seasonality
44Season: 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
John Bayou
- Depth
- 1-4 ftFlat bottom
- Structure
- Estuary · Inner · Semi-exposedEstuary · 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 John Bayou
John Bayou is a bay in Western Choctawhatchee Bay, Florida. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 19 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, red drum and Florida pompano. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, red drum and gray snapper, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, southern flounder, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack. Atlantic croaker peak from July through September. Red drum peak from September through November. 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.
- 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.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Shirk Bayou69
Bay · 0.6 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 69
- Red drum 61
- Southern flounder 56
4 kt NEL 11:46 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:41 AM · 0.8 ft
- Ward Cove67
Bay · 1.0 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 67
- Florida pompano 56
- Gray snapper 55
4 kt NEL 12:22 AM · 0.5 ftH 11:41 AM · 0.8 ft
- Shirk Point63
Cape · 0.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 63
- Florida pompano 52
- Gray snapper 51
4 kt NEL 12:22 AM · 0.5 ftH 11:41 AM · 0.8 ft
- Boggy Point63
Cape · 1.2 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 63
- Gray snapper 54
- Red drum 54
4 kt NEL 11:46 PM · 0.4 ftH 11:41 AM · 0.8 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.