Waterlands

UPDATEDAUTO-REFRESH 5 MIN

Gray triggerfishShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

Dowdy Bay

35.00°N · 76.43°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Gray triggerfish

82/100Great
Now
487 AM EDT
Best window
7-10 AMEbb tide
Tide now
High0.3 ft

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

Notify me when Dowdy Bay scores 75+

Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.

Sign in to set an alert

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 7 AM · now

Time7ANOW
Score48Good
Tide0.3 ftHigh
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NW
Wind5 kn NNWgusts 7 · steady
Sea stateLight chop0.9 ft · 6 s
Air temp76°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy70% cloud
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

Dowdy Bay

Depth
About 1 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 Dowdy Bay

Dowdy Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is about 1 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 southern flounder, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, cobia 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

  • Point of Island Bay

    Bay · 1.0 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 78
    • Florida pompano 66

    5 kt NNWL 1:24 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:50 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Jacks Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 78
    • Atlantic tarpon 66

    5 kt NNWL 1:24 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:50 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Dowdy Point

    Cape · 0.6 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 73
    • Florida pompano 61

    5 kt NNWL 1:24 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:50 PM · 0.3 ft

  • Jacks Bay Point

    Cape · 1.6 mi

    74
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 74
    • Spot 73
    • Florida pompano 61

    5 kt NNWL 1:24 PM · 0.2 ftH 10:50 PM · 0.3 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.