Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Stumpy Creek Bay

35.66°N · 76.07°W · Bay · Alligator River

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Best score today · 8 AM · Gray triggerfish

78/100Great
Now
441 PM EDT
Best window
5 PM-12 AMHigh slack
Tide now
Low0.3 ft

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Oct 2 · 6 PM

Time6P
Score52Good
Tide0.7 ft ▼Ebbing
Wind4 kn NEgusts 16 · steady
Air temp71°Warm
WeatherClear0% cloud
Water75°FPersisted

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

IN EFFECT NOW

No rule for Gray triggerfish is on file here yet, so its status is unknown, not closed. Confirm limits with NCDMF before you keep a fish.

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Gray triggerfish is best here

Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 5 more weeks at shoulder

Gray triggerfish season by week of the year. Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 5 more weeks at shoulder.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
  • Off
  • This week

Gray triggerfish in North Carolina

Spot profile

Stumpy Creek Bay

Depth
1-4 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 Stumpy Creek Bay

Stumpy Creek Bay is a bay in Alligator River, North Carolina. Depth is 1-4 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.

Waterlands scores 24 species here; the best right now are Atlantic croaker, spot and Atlantic tarpon. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, Atlantic tarpon and crevalle jack, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel and cobia. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Atlantic tarpon 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.
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.
Spot
Spot school over mud and sand in bays, tidal creeks and channels and around piers and bridges, generally in less than 25 feet of water. Fish a two-hook bottom rig with small hooks and bits of bloodworm or shrimp, and move until you find a school. In fall the biggest fish run out of the sounds past piers and inlets, and the bite can go all day.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

  • Cypress Point

    Cape · 0.2 mi

    60
    Top: Southern flounderPeak season
    • Southern flounder 60
    • Atlantic tarpon 59
    • Red drum 58

    4 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Bear Point

    Cape · 1.0 mi

    56
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 56
    • Spot 56
    • Atlantic tarpon 54

    4 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Newport News Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    55
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Spot 55
    • Atlantic tarpon 54

    4 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 0.4 ft

  • Tuckahoe Point

    Cape · 1.7 mi

    55
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 55
    • Atlantic tarpon 54
    • Spot 53

    4 kt SEH 7:46 PM · 0.7 ftL 2:28 AM · 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 NCDMF before you keep a fish.