Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Core Sound

34.85°N · 76.35°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 9 AM · Gray triggerfish

79/100Great
Now
541 AM EDT
Best window
7 AM-1 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.4 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 1 AM · now

Time1ANOW
Score54Good
Tide0.4 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward N
Wind8 kn ESEgusts 17 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.7 ft · 6 s
Air temp78°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy70% chance of rain
Water81°FObserved

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.

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

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

Core Sound

Depth
1-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Bay · Inner · Semi-exposedBay · 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 Core Sound

Core Sound is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 1-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.

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 gray snapper, and shoulder season for black drum, red snapper, Spanish mackerel and sheepshead. 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

  • Cross Shoal Channel

    Channel · 2.1 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Atlantic tarpon 75
    • Spot 74

    8 kt ESEL 3:45 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:44 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Gutter Creek

    Gut · 2.2 mi

    78
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 78
    • Spot 74
    • Atlantic tarpon 74

    8 kt ESEL 3:45 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:44 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Styron Bay

    Bay · 1.5 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 72
    • Atlantic tarpon 70

    8 kt ESEL 3:45 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:44 AM · 0.5 ft

  • Mill Point

    Cape · 1.9 mi

    71
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 71
    • Atlantic tarpon 71
    • Atlantic croaker 68

    9 kt ESEL 3:45 AM · 0.3 ftH 8:44 AM · 0.5 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.