Inshore & Surf

How to tell them apart

One identification cue for each species, from its profile. Open a profile for the full description, size and range.

Redfish

Their most reliable identifying mark is one (or more) black "ocellated" spots near the base of the tail; this eyespot is thought to confuse predators into striking the tail instead of the head.

Spotted Seatrout

The defining feature is the scatter of distinct round black spots across the upper body, dorsal fin, and tail - irregular, well-defined, and extending onto the fins (unlike a redfish's single tail spot).

Snook

Snook are unmistakable. The body is long and streamlined, brassy-gold to silvery on the flanks with a yellowish or olive back.

Tarpon

Tarpon are unmistakable: a large, slab-sided fish armored in huge, mirror-bright silver scales, with a dark blue-green or gunmetal back.

Flounder

Flounder are flatfish: born like normal fish, they undergo a remarkable transformation in which one eye migrates so that both eyes end up on the same upward-facing side.

Striped Bass

The body is elongated and moderately deep, with two separate dorsal fins and a forked tail.

Bluefish

Bluefish are built for speed and aggression: a streamlined, moderately stout body that is greenish-blue to blue-gray on the back, fading to silvery sides and a white belly.

Southern Flounder

Unlike the Gulf and Summer flounders, the Southern Flounder lacks distinct large ocellated (eye-like) spots ringed in white, instead showing diffuse dark blotches and small spots.

Sheepshead

Sheepshead are deep-bodied, laterally compressed fish with a steep forehead and a small but powerful mouth.

Florida Pompano

Florida pompano are deep-bodied, laterally compressed, and almost disc-shaped, with a small mouth and a blunt, rounded head.

Bonefish

Bonefish are streamlined, torpedo-shaped fish with a bright, mirror-like silver body that can take on subtle blue, green, or pinkish hues, often with faint darker bars or shading along the back that provide perfect camouflage over a sandy or grassy flat.

Permit

Permit are deep-bodied, strongly compressed, and almost circular in profile, with a high back and a small, blunt head.

Black Drum

Black drum are deep-bodied, high-backed fish with a blunt, slightly downturned snout and a distinctive cluster of small chin barbels on the underside of the lower jaw - the single most reliable way to tell them from a redfish.

Summer Flounder

The mouth is large and armed with sharp, prominent canine teeth - the species name dentatus means toothed - a key feature that distinguishes the predatory summer flounder from the smaller-mouthed winter flounder.

Atlantic Spadefish

Juvenile spadefish are dark, almost black, and drift at the surface mimicking floating leaves or debris for camouflage - a very different look from the silver-and-black adults.

Atlantic Croaker

Atlantic croaker are silvery to pinkish-bronze with a coppery sheen, marked by faint wavy bars running diagonally down the upper flanks.

Weakfish

Weakfish are striking, olive to greenish or bluish on the back with iridescent purple, green, and copper reflections along the flanks, fading to a silvery-white belly.

Tripletail

The tripletail is an unmistakable, deep-bodied, slab-sided fish. Its most striking feature is the set of large, rounded dorsal and anal fins set far back near the tail, which combine with the true tail to create the three-lobed, "triple-tail" look that names the fish.

Southern Kingfish / "Whiting"

Unlike many drums, whiting do not have the loud "drumming" reputation of their larger cousins, and they lack the tail spot of a redfish.

Winter Flounder

Overall they are a compact, tidy flatfish with a tiny mouth that immediately sets them apart from the big-mouthed summer flounder.

Pinfish

Their compact, panfish-like shape and those spines make them easy to separate from the many other small silvery fish around the grass.

Ladyfish

Ladyfish are long, slim, and streamlined, built for speed, with a bright silver, almost mirror-like body and a bluish or greenish back.

Sea Robin

Sea robins are unmistakable. They have a large, bony, armored head, a tapering body, and enormous fan-like pectoral fins that spread out like wings, often colored and patterned when flared.

California Corbina

The barbel and elongated body distinguish them from surfperch.