Sailors ChoiceorTomtate
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
Sailors Choice
Silvery-gray grunt with dark scale rows forming broken oblique stripes; mouth lining red-orange like all grunts.
Tomtate
Slim gray grunt with a brassy stripe ending in a tail-base spot.
Tomtate, next to sailors choice: smaller with a single side stripe.
Side by side
| Sailors Choice | Tomtate | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Haemulon parra | Haemulon aurolineatum |
| Also called | — | — |
| Waters | Nearshore | Nearshore |
| Heaviest state record | — | 3.26 lb · Texas (2019) |
| On the table | Good panfish. | Good panfish. |
| Rules of its own in | 5 states | 4 states |
Rules for
Every state, both fish
The two fish are regulated differently in 4 of 5 states with a rule for either. In Florida (Atlantic), sailors choice is No size limit, 2 fish or 100 lb per day and tomtate is No size limit, No bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate). Call the fish wrong and you keep a short one or throw back a legal one.
| State | Sailors Choice: size · bag · season | Tomtate: size · bag · season |
|---|---|---|
| Florida (Atlantic) | No size limit2 fish or 100 lb per dayOpen year-roundOpenFWC 2026 · likely · checked | No size limitNo bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate)Open year-roundOpenFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters)SAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked |
| Florida (Gulf) | No size limit2 fish or 100 lb per dayOpen year-roundOpenFWC 2026 · likely · checked | Not specifically regulated; the state’s default for unlisted species applies. |
| Georgia | No size limit10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregateOpen year-roundOpenFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters)SAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked | No size limitNo bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate)Open year-roundOpenFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters)SAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked |
| North Carolina | No size limit10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregateOpen year-roundOpenFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters)SAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked | No size limitNo bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate)Open year-roundOpenFederal rule (South Atlantic federal waters)SAFMC / NOAA SERO 2026 · checked |
| South Carolina | No size limit20/day aggregate, max 10 of any one speciesOpen year-roundOpenSC DNR 2026 · checked | No size limit20/day aggregate, max 10 of any one speciesOpen year-roundOpenSC DNR 2026 · likely · checked |
In the app
Point the camera at the fish and Chum names it before you take the picture, sailors choice or tomtate, with the right rules for the water you’re standing in. No signal needed.
Get the appQuestions anglers ask
How do you tell sailors choice from tomtate?
Sailors Choice: Silvery-gray grunt with dark scale rows forming broken oblique stripes; mouth lining red-orange like all grunts. Tomtate: Slim gray grunt with a brassy stripe ending in a tail-base spot. Tomtate, next to sailors choice: smaller with a single side stripe.
Which is better to eat, sailors choice or tomtate?
Sailors Choice: Good panfish. Tomtate: Good panfish.
Do sailors choice and tomtate have the same limits?
Not everywhere. They differ in 4 state rulebooks. Florida (Atlantic): sailors choice No size limit, 2 fish or 100 lb per day, tomtate No size limit, No bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate); Georgia: sailors choice No size limit, 10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregate, tomtate No size limit, No bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate); North Carolina: sailors choice No size limit, 10 per person per day within 20-fish snapper-grouper aggregate, tomtate No size limit, No bag limit (excluded from the 20-fish aggregate); Florida (Gulf): sailors choice No size limit, 2 fish or 100 lb per day, tomtate no rule of its own.