Orange FilefishorScrawled Filefish
Two fish anglers mix up. Here is what separates them, and what each one’s rules are in your state.
How to tell them apart
Orange Filefish
Big pale filefish dusted with tiny orange freckles; tiny upturned mouth and a broom of a tail.
Orange filefish, next to scrawled filefish: orange freckles instead of scribbles.
Scrawled Filefish
Long pale filefish scribbled all over in blue lines and black dots, trailing a broom tail.
Scrawled filefish, next to orange filefish: blue scribbles and black dots.
Side by side
| Orange Filefish | Scrawled Filefish | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Aluterus schoepfii | Aluterus scriptus |
| Also called | — | — |
| Waters | Nearshore | Nearshore |
| Heaviest state record | — | 4.66 lb · Texas (2010) |
| On the table | Edible — skin it, the hide is leather. | Edible; thin fillets. |
| Rules of its own in | 3 states | 2 states |
Rules for
Every state, both fish
The two fish are regulated differently in 1 of 3 states with a rule for either. In North Carolina, orange filefish is No size limit, No bag limit while scrawled filefish has no rule of its own there. Call the fish wrong and you keep a short one or throw back a legal one.
| State | Orange Filefish: size · bag · season | Scrawled Filefish: size · bag · season |
|---|---|---|
| Florida (Atlantic) | No size limit5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregateOpen year-roundOpenFWC 2026 · likely · checked | No size limit5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregateOpen year-roundOpenFWC 2026 · likely · checked |
| Florida (Gulf) | No size limit5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregateOpen year-roundOpenFWC 2026 · likely · checked | No size limit5 per species within 20-organism marine life aggregateOpen year-roundOpenFWC 2026 · likely · checked |
| North Carolina | No size limitNo bag limitOpen year-roundOpenNC DMF 2026 · checked | Not specifically regulated; the state’s default for unlisted species applies. |
In the app
Point the camera at the fish and Chum names it before you take the picture, orange filefish or scrawled filefish, with the right rules for the water you’re standing in. No signal needed.
Get the appQuestions anglers ask
How do you tell orange filefish from scrawled filefish?
Orange Filefish: Big pale filefish dusted with tiny orange freckles; tiny upturned mouth and a broom of a tail. Scrawled Filefish: Long pale filefish scribbled all over in blue lines and black dots, trailing a broom tail. Scrawled filefish, next to orange filefish: blue scribbles and black dots. Orange filefish, next to scrawled filefish: orange freckles instead of scribbles.
Which is better to eat, orange filefish or scrawled filefish?
Orange Filefish: Edible — skin it, the hide is leather. Scrawled Filefish: Edible; thin fillets.
Do orange filefish and scrawled filefish have the same limits?
Not everywhere. They differ in 1 state rulebooks. North Carolina: orange filefish No size limit, No bag limit, scrawled filefish no rule of its own.