Scaled Sardine
Harengula jaguana
Also called Whitebait, Pilchard.
How to tell it
Bright bait sardine with a faint shoulder spot and no trailing threads; the castnet standard.
Often mistaken for
Two fish that get called scaled sardine, and what gives each one away.
- Spanish sardine: Slimmer, no spot. Tell them apart
- Atlantic thread herring: Trailing dorsal thread. Tell them apart
Rules for
Every state
| State | Size | Bag | Season | Today |
|---|
Not specifically regulated in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (Atlantic), Florida (Gulf), Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia: each state’s rule for unlisted species applies there (on its page).
On the table
The livewell staple — bait.
In the app
Point the camera at a scaled sardine 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 scaled sardine
How do you tell scaled sardine from Spanish sardine?
Scaled Sardine: Bright bait sardine with a faint shoulder spot and no trailing threads; the castnet standard. Spanish sardine: slimmer, no spot.