Waterlands

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Gray triggerfishShoulder season

Bar · South Carolina

Bird Island Shoal

32.96°N · 79.58°W · Bar · Charleston Harbor

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Best score today · 7 AM · Gray triggerfish

72/100Great
Now
556 PM EDT
Best window
6-10 PMEbb tide
Tide now
Ebbing4.9 ft ▼

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

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24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 6 PM · now

Time6PNOW
Score55Good
Tide4.9 ft ▼Ebbing
Current0.2 knmodeled · toward NE
Wind4 kn Egusts 11 · steady
Sea stateLight chop1.4 ft · 6 s
Air temp81°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy65% chance of rain
Water84°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 SCDNR 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 South Carolina

Spot profile

Bird Island Shoal

Depth
3-5 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Shoal · Inner · Semi-exposedShoal · 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 Bird Island Shoal

Bird Island Shoal is a bar in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Depth is 3-5 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads shoal, 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 red drum, and shoulder season for Florida pompano, Spanish mackerel, black drum and black sea bass. 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

  • Bull Harbor

    Bay · 1.8 mi

    79
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 79
    • Spot 79
    • Crevalle jack 73

    4 kt EL 10:56 PM · 1.4 ftH 4:49 AM · 4.7 ft

  • Bulls Bay

    Bay · 1.3 mi

    77
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 77
    • Spot 75
    • Atlantic tarpon 74

    4 kt EL 10:56 PM · 1.4 ftH 4:49 AM · 4.7 ft

  • Northeast Point

    Cape · 2.0 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 70
    • Atlantic tarpon 69

    4 kt EL 10:56 PM · 1.4 ftH 4:49 AM · 4.7 ft

  • White Banks

    Bar · 5.3 mi

    72
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 72
    • Spot 69
    • Atlantic tarpon 68

    4 kt EL 11:04 PM · 1.4 ftH 4:57 AM · 4.6 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 SCDNR before you keep a fish.