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Gray triggerfishShoulder seasonSpecies here · tap to switch
- Best of all
- Atlantic croaker73
- Spot73
- Crevalle jack70
- Atlantic tarpon68
- Gray snapper67
- Red drum66
- Summer flounder65
- King mackerel64
- Southern flounder63
- Black drum61
- Spotted seatrout61
- Spanish mackerel59
- Cobia58
- Sheepshead58
- Gray triggerfish57
- Red snapper57
- Black sea bass56
- Gag grouper56
- Red grouper56
- Little tunny53
- Weakfish53
- Greater amberjack51
- Florida pompano50
- Bluefish35
Best score today · 7 AM · Gray triggerfish
- Now
- 5710 AM EDT
- Best window
- 4 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing0.4 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Pains Bay 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
90Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
97Wind: 11 kt NEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
76Water temp: 80°F, primeLight: Bright sunSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 1.2 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 today
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Gray triggerfish is best here
Shoulder season for Gray triggerfish · 6 more weeks at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- This week
Spot profile
Pains Bay
- Depth
- 4-6 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 Pains Bay
Pains Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 4-6 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 crevalle jack. It is peak season now for Atlantic croaker, spot, crevalle jack and Atlantic tarpon, and shoulder season for black drum, Spanish mackerel, cobia and sheepshead. Atlantic croaker peak from August through October. Spot peak from September through October. Crevalle jack peak from July through October.
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
- Rawls Point68
Cape · 0.9 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Crevalle jack 65
11 kt NEL 11:57 AM · 0.3 ftH 6:50 PM · 0.7 ft
- Pains Point68
Cape · 1.3 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Crevalle jack 65
11 kt NEL 11:57 AM · 0.3 ftH 6:50 PM · 0.7 ft
- Long Shoal68
Bar · 2.5 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Crevalle jack 65
11 kt NEL 11:57 AM · 0.3 ftH 6:50 PM · 0.7 ft
- Pingleton Point68
Cape · 2.7 mi
Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season- Atlantic croaker 68
- Spot 68
- Crevalle jack 65
11 kt NEL 11:57 AM · 0.3 ftH 6:50 PM · 0.7 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.