Sailors Choice
Haemulon parra
How to tell it
Silvery-gray grunt with dark scale rows forming broken oblique stripes; mouth lining red-orange like all grunts.
- Not a white margate? That one cleaner silver, deeper body. (White Margate)
- Not a tomtate? That one smaller with a single side stripe. (Tomtate)
Rules for
Every state
| State | Size | Bag | Season | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (Atlantic) | No size limit | 2 fish or 100 lb per day | Open year-roundFWC 2026 · likely · checked | Open |
| Florida (Gulf) | No size limit | 2 fish or 100 lb per day | Open year-roundFWC 2026 · likely · checked | Open |
| GeorgiaFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters) | No size limit | 10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregate | Open year-roundSAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked | Open |
| North CarolinaFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters) | No size limit | 10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregate | Open year-roundSAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked | Open |
| South Carolina | No size limit | 20/day aggregate, max 10 of any one species | Open year-roundSC DNR 2026 · checked | Open |
Not specifically regulated in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia: each state’s rule for unlisted species applies there (on its page).
On the table
Good panfish.
In the app
Point the camera at a sailors choice and the name appears before you take the picture, with these rules for the water you’re standing in. No signal needed, and every catch goes in the log.
Get the appQuestions anglers ask about sailors choice
How many sailors choice can you keep?
Florida (Atlantic): 2 fish or 100 lb per day; Florida (Gulf): 2 fish or 100 lb per day; Georgia: 10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregate; North Carolina: 10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregate; South Carolina: 20/day aggregate, max 10 of any one species.
How do you tell sailors choice from white margate?
Sailors Choice has this: Silvery-gray grunt with dark scale rows forming broken oblique stripes; mouth lining red-orange like all grunts.. White Margate cleaner silver, deeper body.