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Gray triggerfishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker80
- Spot76
- Atlantic tarpon70
- Red drum65
- Southern flounder65
- Crevalle jack63
- Gray snapper62
- Summer flounder61
- Black drum60
- Florida pompano59
- Spotted seatrout59
- King mackerel57
- Black sea bass54
- Weakfish54
- Sheepshead51
- Spanish mackerel50
- Gray triggerfish49
- Red snapper49
- Gag grouper48
- Red grouper47
- Little tunny45
- Cobia44
- Greater amberjack43
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 5 PM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 496 AM EDT
- Best window
- 1-11 PMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing1.8 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Sanders Creek 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 · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
53Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
99Wind: 5 kt NPressure: RisingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
74Water temp: 81°F, primeLight: DawnSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.4 ftSeason & habitat · Gray triggerfish
Species seasonality
44Season: ShoulderHabitat: Poor fitDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: no rule on file
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
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.
Source: NCDMF · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray triggerfish is best here
Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 5 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Sanders Creek
- Depth
- Up to 3 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 Sanders Creek
Sanders Creek is a gut in Neuse and Bay Rivers, North Carolina. Depth is up to 3 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads estuary, 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 red drum, and shoulder season for black drum, Florida pompano, black sea bass and weakfish. 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
- Cow Channel79
Channel · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Spot 75
- Atlantic tarpon 69
5 kt NL 10:59 AM · 0.6 ftH 5:30 PM · 2.5 ft
- Browns Inlet79
Channel · 3.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 79
- Spot 75
- Atlantic tarpon 71
3 kt NL 11:01 AM · 0.6 ftH 5:33 PM · 3.3 ft
- Bear Inlet76
Bay · 0.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Spot 75
- Atlantic tarpon 71
3 kt NL 10:59 AM · 0.6 ftH 5:30 PM · 2.5 ft
- Browns Sound76
Bay · 3.4 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 76
- Spot 74
- Atlantic tarpon 67
3 kt NL 11:01 AM · 0.6 ftH 5:33 PM · 3.3 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.