Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishShoulder season

Bay · North Carolina

West Bay

35.03°N · 76.40°W · Bay · Pamlico Sound

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Best score today · 9 AM · Gray triggerfish

81/100Great
Now
5110 PM EDT
Best window
10 PM-12 AMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing0.3 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions

Friday, Sep 25 · 7 PM

Time7P
Score56Good
Tide0.2 ft ▲Flooding
Current1.0 knmodeled · toward SW
Wind15 kn Ngusts 26 · steady
Sea stateModerate2.8 ft · 5 s
Air temp68°Mild
WeatherOvercast100% cloud
Water76°FBias corrected

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

West Bay

Depth
10-15 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 West Bay

West Bay is a bay in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Depth is 10-15 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 crevalle jack, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, black drum, red snapper and Spanish mackerel. 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

  • Meredith Bend

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 72
    • Atlantic tarpon 65

    13 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Newstump Bay

    Bay · 1.6 mi

    73
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 73
    • Spot 72
    • Red drum 67

    13 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Point of Grass

    Cape · 2.1 mi

    69
    Top: Red drumPeak season
    • Red drum 69
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Spot 68

    12 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 0.3 ft

  • Newstump Point

    Cape · 1.1 mi

    67
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 67
    • Spot 67
    • Gray snapper 60

    13 kt NEL 3:33 AM · 0.2 ftH 8:41 AM · 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.