Spanish Sardine
Sardinella aurita
How to tell it
Slim, round-bodied silver sardine with a blue-green back and no spots or threads at all.
- Not a scaled sardine? That one deeper body, shoulder spot. (Scaled Sardine)
- Not a round scad? That one detached finlets and tail scutes. (Round Scad)
Rules for
Every state
| State | Size | Bag | Season | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (Atlantic) | No size limit | No bag limit for bait | Open year-roundFWC 2026 · likely · checked | Open |
| Florida (Gulf) | No size limit | No bag limit for bait | Open year-roundFWC 2026 · likely · checked | Open |
Not specifically regulated in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, 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
Bait; canned commercially.
In the app
Point the camera at a spanish 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 spanish sardine
How do you tell spanish sardine from scaled sardine?
Spanish Sardine has this: Slim, round-bodied silver sardine with a blue-green back and no spots or threads at all.. Scaled Sardine deeper body, shoulder spot.