What's Biting FL
Florida Keys

Gray Triggerfish in Florida Keys

Gray Triggerfish
Balistes capriscus · Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0

Small hooks and squid strips on reefs and wrecks. Very short seasons, check first.

Next seven days

DayBiteWhy
Fri, Oct 306Storms possible, fish early and watch the sky
Sat, Oct 316Storms possible, fish early and watch the sky
Sun, Nov 15Storms possible, fish early and watch the sky
Mon, Nov 24Storms possible, fish early and watch the sky. Weak tides
Tue, Nov 34Storms possible, fish early and watch the sky. Weak tides
Wed, Nov 45Light wind. Weak tides
Thu, Nov 55Light wind. Weak tides

Seasonal pattern

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Editorial baseline for Florida. Green months are prime, yellow fair, red slow. Preferred water temperature 65–85°F.

Regulations that apply here

Applies to: state and adjacent federal waters · Licenses: State Reef Fish Angler designation required for anglers on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida who intend to fish for or harvest certain reef fish from a private vessel, renew annually

Species / zoneSeasonSizeBagNotes
Gray Triggerfish
Atlantic State Waters
open now
Open year-round
12" fork length10 per personLegal Gear: hook and line, spears, gigs. Reef fish gear requirements apply Special regulations apply for this species when fishing in Biscayne National Park. Atlantic: 12" FL: up to 10 per person within the 20 fish "other" snapper grouper aggregate bag limit.
Queen triggerfish
Statewide
open now
——Queen triggerfish are managed as marine life species and must be kept alive until landed.

Source: FWC, extracted 2026-10-29. Review flags: Federal waters season text contains a likely typo ('potential early quote closures') copied verbatim from page.; Queen triggerfish has no season, size, or bag limits stated on this page; only marine life handling requirement noted.

See all Gray Triggerfish rules statewide.