The grounds · 180 ft · banks, ledges and wrecks

Gray Triggerfish

Balistes capriscus. Prime water reaches Virginia Beach in Mid-Atlantic right now (66°F on the bottom). Fish it 66–172 ft down — that is where 80–64°F water sits off Virginia Beach.

Gray Triggerfish identification illustration
LaneThe grounds · 30 fa (180 ft)
Depth it holds66–295 ft
Prime water64–82°F (workable 64–88°F)
Holds in the column66–295 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurerequires

The water column off Virginia Beach

0 ft90 ft181 ft105 ft of workable water66–171 ft · 80–64°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 181 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Gray Triggerfish's temperature band (64–88°F) and the depth it holds actually overlap. That thickness is the number that matters: it is how much water you can work, not just whether the spot is warm enough somewhere. One model cycle, not a weekly archive — this holds still while the surface map scrubs.

How it's fished

Small strong hooks tight to the structure — they bite short and shred a bait off a big hook.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
Mid-Atlantic in season reaches Virginia Beach 66°F 66–172 ft
J
F
M
A
M
Southeast Atlantic in season reaches Cape Hatteras 79°F 66–179 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
Gulf of Mexico in season reaches Tampa 77°F 66–181 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Florida Keys in season reaches Islamorada 83°F 66–176 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
"Fish it at" is where this species' temperature band and its holding depth overlap in the water column, from the RTOFS profile (13 levels, 0–300 m) — the depth to actually put a bait, not just the place. "Prime water" is the furthest sampled station on the 30-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 30-fathom lane
Wilmington Canyon
Flower Garden Banks