Sea BreamorSpottail Pinfish
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
Sea Bream
Pinfish-like porgy with gold pinstripes and a dark shoulder spot on a deeper, rounder body.
Spottail Pinfish
Silvery and deep-bodied with a bold black saddle across the tail base; faint vertical bars, no blue-and-yellow stripes (that's a pinfish).
Spottail pinfish, next to sea bream: spot on the tail base instead.
Side by side
| Sea Bream | Spottail Pinfish | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Archosargus rhomboidalis | Diplodus holbrookii |
| Also called | Western Atlantic seabream | — |
| Waters | Inshore | Inshore |
| Heaviest state record | 1.11 lb · Texas (1996) | 2 lb 8 oz · North Carolina (2015) |
| On the table | Panfish. | Fine panfish; most run small — better known as a bait-stealer. |
| Rules of its own in | 0 states | 0 states |
Rules for
Every state, both fish
| State | Sea Bream: size · bag · season | Spottail Pinfish: size · bag · season |
|---|
In the app
Point the camera at the fish and Chum names it before you take the picture, sea bream or spottail pinfish, with the right rules for the water you’re standing in. No signal needed.
Get the appQuestions anglers ask
How do you tell sea bream from spottail pinfish?
Sea Bream: Pinfish-like porgy with gold pinstripes and a dark shoulder spot on a deeper, rounder body. Spottail Pinfish: Silvery and deep-bodied with a bold black saddle across the tail base; faint vertical bars, no blue-and-yellow stripes (that's a pinfish). Spottail pinfish, next to sea bream: spot on the tail base instead.
Which gets bigger, sea bream or spottail pinfish?
Spottail Pinfish. The heaviest state record we hold is 2 lb 8 oz in North Carolina; the heaviest sea bream record is 1.11 lb in Texas.
Which is better to eat, sea bream or spottail pinfish?
Sea Bream: Panfish. Spottail Pinfish: Fine panfish; most run small — better known as a bait-stealer.