Ladyfish
Ladyfish (Elops saurus) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: a slender, fully silver body with very small scales and a deeply forked tail. The look-alike to rule out is Tarpon: tarpon have enormous plate-like scales and a long filament trailing from the last dorsal ray; a ladyfish has neither, and stays far smaller.
Last updated
| Scientific name | Elops saurus |
|---|---|
| Also called | skipjack, ten-pounder, poor man's tarpon |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Ladyfish |
| Temperature | Common between 72 and 88 °F and intolerant of cold snaps. |
How to identify a Ladyfish
- A slender, fully silver body with very small scales and a deeply forked tail.
- A terminal, slightly upturned mouth, set at the front of the head rather than underneath it.
- A single soft dorsal fin near the middle of the back with no trailing filament.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Tarpon | Tarpon have enormous plate-like scales and a long filament trailing from the last dorsal ray; a ladyfish has neither, and stays far smaller. |
| Bonefish | Bonefish have a conical snout with the mouth set underneath for rooting in sand; a ladyfish's mouth faces forward and up. |
Read the full entry for Tarpon and Bonefish.
Where it lives
Atlantic and Gulf estuaries, passes, beaches and backcountry from the Carolinas through the tropics. Schools in open water rather than holding to structure.
Temperature
Common between 72 and 88 °F and intolerant of cold snaps.
The conditions that matter
Ladyfish pile into passes and creek mouths on moving water and feed hardest at dawn, dusk and under dock lights. They are frequently the first fish to show when a falling tide starts to pull bait out of a creek, which makes them a useful signal that the tide has begun to work even when you are targeting something else.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about ladyfish into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.