Ladyfish (Skipjack)
Elops saurus
Fish TABLE: Poor-to-fair DIFFICULTY
Slender, silver, herring-like fish with a deeply forked tail and large eyes - a miniature tarpon relative. Usually 1-3 lb but pulls far above its weight and greyhounds across the surface.
⚖ Texas & federal limits
Bag, size and season rules apply — several offshore species run on federal seasons that open and close by the year. Check the current TPWD Outdoor Annual →.
Bag, size and season rules apply — several offshore species run on federal seasons that open and close by the year. Check the current TPWD Outdoor Annual →.
On the water
WhenSpring through fall, most active in warm water; feeds through the day and can boil on bait at dawn and dusk.WherePasses, jetties, channels, bay shorelines, and the surf - anywhere bait stacks, often in moving water near the beachfront and cuts.HowCast small spoons, jigs, or topwaters into working bait and retrieve quickly. Find one and you've usually found a school - expect jumps and thrown hooks.BehaviorFast, schooling predator that herds shrimp and small baitfish and slashes through them, frequently mixed with trout and Spanish mackerel on the same bait.The fightWild, acrobatic jumps and fast runs well beyond its size - the 'poor man's tarpon.'
Baits that work
- Silver spoons
- Small jigs (shrimp/glass-minnow imitations)
- Cut/live shrimp
- Small topwaters
Tackle
Rod & reelLight-medium 7 ft spinningLine10-15 lb braidLeader20-30 lb fluoro (raspy jaws)Terminal1/0-2/0RigSmall spoon or jig, cast and burned
The bait clock
☀ DawnTopwater or spoon into surface boils
Low-light feeding blitzes near cuts and jetties.
☼ MiddaySpoon or small jig burned through bait
Active all day where bait schools hold.
☾ DuskSpoon into working bait
Evening bait movement fires them up again.
[{'months': [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10], 'note': 'Warm-season beachfront and pass action, often with Spanish mackerel.'}]
A blast on light tackle and a bait-catcher's best friend.
Don’t confuse it with
Ladyfish (skipjack) are chrome-silver, tube-shaped, tiny teeth, and jump. Bluefish are blue-green with a blunt head and a mouth full of visible teeth that will find you.
Not sure? Point the Fish ID camera at it →
Keep or release
Handling & releaseHardy but slimes heavily and thrashes; wet hands, back the hook out quickly. No barotrauma.On the tableSoft, bony flesh, seldom kept for the table.As baitYes - excellent cut and live bait for tarpon, sharks, kingfish, and bull redfish.
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