< Atlantic Threadfin - Florida Go Fishing
Florida Go Fishing man holding snook fish

Atlantic Threadfin (Polydactylus octonemus)

Species > Atlantic Threadfin

closeup of an atlantic threadfin showing white fish with wiskers and diamond skin pattern

The Atlantic threadfin is an unusual catch in Florida. We have heard many names referring to this species: threadfish, goatfish, surf runner, and glassnose whiting. Because this species is very uncommon, most have no idea what it is when they catch one.

The Atlantic threadfin lives on sandy and muddy bottoms near beaches and is mostly found in the surf alongside Whiting. They are a subtropical species found in the western Atlantic from New York to Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico and some reports of them as far south as the northern South American coast.atlantic threadfin

This species is officially said to be 9 inches but we have a catch in Florida at 15 inches. There is not a lot of information on this species, see what NOAA has for a picture of this species. Well we now have more pictures than anywhere else on the internet, all submitted by anglers trying to ID this not so common species.

The herringbone scale pattern is shinny white, the barbells on the chin and the blunt overbite are ways to identify this species.

We have reports that the Atlantic threadfin is excellent table fare, so try it out!

Atlantic Threadfin Catches in Florida

side view of live atlantic threadfinSince this species is uncommon, we decided to record anglers catches. If you found this page in your search to ID your catch, send us the details of your catch and any pictures to be included.
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Date Beach County/State Size Bait
08/02/2019 Deerfield Beach Pier Palm Beach 9" Clam fish bites on a pompano rig
07/20/2019 Bicentennial Park - Indian Harbor Bch Brevard 10" Fresh Cut Shrimp on a pompano rig
04/25/2019 Hobe Sound Beach Martin 12" Pompano rig with sand flea fishbites
02/25/2019 Jupiter Beach south of inlet jetty Palm Beach    
01/27/2019 Hobe Sound Beach Martin 15"  
01/19/2019 Hobe Sound Beach Martin   Pompano rig with orange shrimp flavour fishbite
01/12/2019 Beach South of Fort Pierce Inlet St Lucie 11" Combination of dead shrimp and fish bites
01/03/2019 Hobe Sound Beach Martin 15" Shrimp - Overcast, windy, rising high tide at 1PM
12/31/2018 Melbourne Beach Brevard    
12/30/2018 Hutchinson Island Martin 14" Incoming tide
11/28/2018 Jensen Beach 1st troft Palm Beach 13" Pompano rigs with fish bites at high tide
10/25/2018 Hollywood Beach Broward   Sabiki rig and fish finder rig, both had fishbites shrimp
08/30/2018 Jupiter Beach South of Blowing Rocks Palm Beach 8" On a fly while fly fishing
08/25/2018 Fort Pierce surf St Lucie 12"  
08/07/2018 Hobe Sound Beach Martin   Dead shrimp
08/03/2018 Melbourne Beach at Bonsteel Park Brevard 12" Frozen shrimp bait on a pompano rig in rough surf
07/19/2018 Futch Park Indialantic Brevard   Dropper loop rig and mole crab
07/12/2018 Cocoa Beach Brevard 8" Rig with 2 oz weight, one hook w/fishbites artificial bloodworm
07/04/2018 Indialantic Beach Brevard   Pompano Rig with crab fishbites at 7 am
05/30/2018 Juno Beach Palm Beach 9" Pompano rig with sand flea Fishbites
05/21/2018 Melbourne Beach Brevard 12" Pompano rig with shrimp & fish bites
02/26/2018 Sebastian Inlet State Park Beach Indian River 8" Pompano rig with sand fleas
12/30/2017 House of Refuge, Stuart Martin   Whiting rig with fresh dead shrimp fillets
12/15/2017 Jupiter Island S of Coral Cove Palm Beach 10" Pink shrimp Fishbites on a pompano rig
11/18/2017 Dania Beach Broward 12" Small frozen squid stripes
11/07/2017 Jupiter Beach Palm Beach 15"  
11/04/2017 Bathtub Beach, Stuart Martin 14"  
10/29/2017 Lauderdale by the Sea Broward 11" Cut clam and bottom rig
10/15/2017 Vero Beach Indian River 11" Cut bait (finger mullet) using a bottom rig
10/07/2017 Anglins Pier Broward 12" Shrimp
07/28/2017 Fort Pierce Jetty St Lucie 11"  
07/23/2017 Hobe Sound Beach Martin 12" Orange color Fishbite
07/06/2017 Boca Raton Beach Palm Beach 12" Live sand fleas
05/13/2017 Fort Pierce Inlet St Lucie 8" Fishbite and dead shrimp on pompano rigs
05/12/2017 Patrick Air Force Base Beach Brevard 12" Neutral color shrimp-flavored fishbites on a pompano rig
05/10/2017 Melbourne Beach Brevard 6" Shrimp on a pompano rig
05/09/2017 Deerfield Beach Broward 4" Cast net on a school of juveniles
05/06/2017 Hobe Sound Beach Martin 15" Clam fishbite/dead fresh shrimp combo
04/11/2017 Deerfield Beach Broward 11" Small yellow or black rooster-tail
04/02/2017 Satellite Beach Brevard 8" Pompano rig with clam flavored Fishbites
03/17/2017 Indialantic Beach Brevard 8" Orange and white flea fish bite
03/12/2017 Indialantic Beach Brevard 8" Orange clam fish bites
03/08/2017 Vero Beach Indian River 8" Clams during low tide
02/25/2017 Satellite Beach Brevard 10" Fresh dead shrimp
01/18/2017 Sebastian Indian River   Shrimp
01/16/2017 Singer Island Beach Palm Beach 14" Frozen shrimp
12/05/2016 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Bch Broward 6" Pompano rig with squid strips
07/03/2016 Hobe Sound Beach Martin 14" Bait fish pattern fly
06/15/2016 Pompano Beach Broward   Jig with swimming mullet gulp bait
04/07/2016 Blind Creek St Lucie 9" Artificial Bait (FishBites, Sand Flea Scent)
02/22/2016 Jensen Beach Martin 8" Artificial bait (fish bite) in the surf
02/14/2016 Hobe Sound Beach Martin    
02/06/2016 Dania Beach Broward 10" Flyfishing with a bait fish pattern (polar fiber fly)
01/11/2016 Dania Beach Broward    
12/27/2015 Hobe Sound Martin 15" Frozen clams
11/26/2015 Juno & Jupiter Beach Palm & Martin 15" Artificial strip bait
10/17/2015 Boca Inlet from Beach Palm Beach 11" Fishbites sand flea flavor
08/19/2015 Jupiter Island Martin 10" Fly casting (released)
08/09/2015 Satellite Beach Brevard 8" Cast net
08/01/2015 Lake Worth Palm Beach   Cast net
07/26/2015 Fernandina Beach Nassau 13" Dead peeled shrimp
07/21/2015 Sebastian Inlet Brevard 10" Castnet
02/27/2015 Juno Beach Palm Beach 15" Fishbites strips
02/16/2015 Juno Beach Palm Beach 12" Shrimp
1/26/2015 Juno Beach Pier Palm Beach   Fresh dead shrimp
01/02/2015 Jupiter Beach Palm Beach 11" Clams
12/28/2014 Hobe Sound Martin 10" Squid
08/16/2014 South Beach Miami-Dade 10" Live shrimp
08/05/2014 Surfside Beach, TX NW Gulf of Mexico 5"  
08/05/2014 Blue Heron Beach St Lucie 9"  
07/27/2014 West Palm Beach Palm Beach 10" Speargun
07/05/2014 Hollywood Beach Broward 11" Live pilchards
07/02/2014 Hollywood Beach Broward 11" Live shrimp
05/26/2014 Hobe Sound NWR Martin    
05/12/2014 Vero Beach Indian River 11" Frozen shrimp
04/20/2014 Pompano Beach Broward 12" Frozen clams
04/19/2014 Juno Beach Palm Beach 12"  
02/26/2014 Gulfstream Park Beach Palm Beach 14.5  
02/24/2014 Ft Pierce, S of Inlet St Lucie 11" Dead live shrimp
02/11/2014 Jupiter Beach Palm Beach 11"  
02/04/2014 Avalon Beach St Lucie   Frozen shrimp
01/18/2014 Dania Beach Broward 15"  

A common comment we receive when an angler finally finds our unique webpage dedicated to reporting Atlantic threadfin sightings: "I had never seen them before and it took me a while to figure out what it was."

Atlantic Threadfin Fillets Are Excellent Eating Resembling Snapper

Phil K.. submitted this image of a 15" Atlantic threadfin fillet caught May 6, 2017 on Hobe Sound Beach. Many anglers have said the threadfin tastes as good, if not better, than snapper!

"I caught two this weekend on the Hobe Sound Beach in Hobe Sound FL. These fish are delicious and I catch them everytime I go fishing. They have a firm white meat and it has a taste similar to snapper. I actually prefer Threadfish over snapper all day!" - Daniel M.

large image of a atlantic threadfin fillet

Angler Reports

February 26, 2018

man holding an atlantic threadfin on the beachJack S. caught this threadfin on 2/26/18, at about 6:00 pm using a pompano rig with sand fleas. He estimated it was 8 inches long. It was caught in the Indian River County, in Sebastian off of the Sebastian Inlet State Park Beach.

December 30, 2017

Levi P. caught this threadfin at around 3 pm just south of the House of Refuge in Stuart on a whiting rig with fresh dead shrimp fillets look pretty and white. Thank you guys for the previous information and posts as even after 30 years fishing in Florida on the Treasure Coast  this was a new one on me.

closeup of atlantic threadfin showing diamond patter in skin

December 15, 2017

My boys and I caught two Atlantic Threadfins, 9" and 10", on 12/15/17 surf fishing off Jupiter Island - South of Coral Cove. We used pink shrimp Fishbites on a Pompano rig about 20 yards from shore. Picture attached. The boys were hungry so we fried them for dinner the same evening. Tasty! - Trevor, Ethan, and Tyler Schlueter

2 kids holding 2 threadfins over an orange bucket

November 18, 2017

I caught 6 Polydactylus octonemus from 8” to 12” yesterday 11/18/17 in Dania Beach, FL (John U. Lloyd Beach State Park). I used a hand line with #10 golden hooks rigged with small frozen squid stripes just behind the shore break surf. Two of them had sand fleas in the stomach, one had eaten an anchovy. - Sebastien G.

large cutting board with 6 threadfin on it and a rulerman holding a threadfin in his hand

November 7, 2017

Caught this 15 inch threadfin at Jupiter Beach while fly fishing the surf in the morning on November 7, 2017 - Christopher W.

white threadfin with a pink fly lure in its mouth

October 29, 2017 Lauderdale by the sea

I caught this on Sunday about 8:30 pm, with cut clam and bottom rig. As you can see in the second photo, it has 6 drop fins in each side. I saw some 3 drop fins in the past and this is the first time I saw the 6 drop fin one. - Best regards, Chen

threadfin 11" long on foil with a rulercloseup of the atlantic threadfin's wiskers

October 15, 2017 Vero Beach

Found your site searching for this fish to ID. Never seen it before and two locals from the bait shop who have fished the area for 50 years didn't know what it was either. I caught him on cut bait (finger mullet) using a bottom rig yesterday in the surf while fishing at Vero Beach. Tide was incoming and very rough full of seaweed. Neat to know I caught something unusual. By the way he was about 11 inches in length.- Jimmy S.

white fish in the sand with wiskers is an atlantic threadfin

July 28, 2017 Fort Pierce South of Jetty

Caught a treadfin surf fishing around 10 am on shrimp south of the Fort Pierce jetty on the beach. Measured 11" long ? 3". Understand that this is unique or not real common. We were catching plenty of whitening as well. Thanks for your site. I figured it was in the whitening family, but had never caught one before. I was surprised at the "meatyness" of this fish for its size! And yes it was tasty. - Sandra M.

July 23, 2017 Hobe Sound Beach

My name is Kevin W, me and my girlfriend Tammy caught 17 of these threadfins ranging from 7" to 12". today (07/23/17) at Hobe Sound Beach,we where there at first light. We where using fresh shrimp and shrimp fb, put a fresh shrimp on one hook and a fb on the other and caught 90% of them on the fb (orange). - Kevin W. 17 threadfin fish on a board

 

closeup of face of threadfin

July 6, 2017 Boca Raton Beach

12" Threadfin in Boca at 6 am using live sand fleas. - Manny P.

May 13, 2017 Fort Pierce Inlet

Just identified fish that my dad and I caught from your site. We were fishing about 3 miles south of Fort Pierce Inlet. We caught 3 fish about 6 to 8 inches long. The biggest is in the pic. Fish caught on fishbite and dead shrimp on pompano rigs. Released as did not know what they were. Asked a fisherman we knew next to us that has fished the area all his life and he caught one the day before. He had no idea what they were. Thanks for info. - John H.

atlantic threadfin in the sand

May 12, 2017 Patrick Air Force Base Beach

Caught 5 Atlantic Threadfin of 12 inches in length at Patrick Air Force Base Beach on 5/12/17. Bait was shrimp-flavored Fish-Bites, neutral color, on a Pompano Rig at 1 hour after high tide in the near-shore through. The bite was very active for about 30 minutes, then dropped off. - Eugene O.

May 10, 2017 Melbourne Beach

Like you expressed on your website, I stumbled upon your website while researching a fish I caught yesterday.  Thank you for the great information on this site. I have fished the coast of Florida my whole life and never seen or talked to anyone who has any knowledge of this fish. I like that your website has a reported catches section on this species.  I would like to report that I Steve Stewart caught an Atlantic Threadfin on 5/10/2017 at 7 p.m. off the beach with a piece of shrimp on a pompano rig in the town of Melbourne Beach.  I have attached a few photos of my catch.

small threadfin in the sandholding threadfin fish
closesup man holding white fishatlantic threadfin in the hand of man on beach

May 9, 2017 Deerfield Beach

Threw the cast net at a school of what i thought were 3-4 inch croakers today in Deerfield Beach, ended up being Atlantic threadfin. All fish were really small though, didn't see any larger than 4 inches. - Jacob A.

May 6, 2017 Hobe Sound Beach

Caught this 15" Atlantic threadfin on Hobe Sound Beach, Martin County, using clam fishbite/dead fresh shrimp combo. Excellent eating resembling snapper. - Phil K.

15 inch threadfin liveman holding a threadfin fillet

April 11, 2017 Deerfield Beach Pier

Hello, I saw your website while researching this fish and wanted to send you a picture. I caught (and released) 2 of these fish on an ultra-light spinning rod with a small yellow or black rooster-tail. Caught this one on 4/11 (5:57PM) in the surf just north of the Deerfield Beach Pier in just a couple feet of water. Not sure the date of the other one but it was around the same date and same spot. They were both about 10-11 inches. - Dan G.

man holding threadfin at Deerfield beach in surf

April 2, 2017 Satellite Beach

I caught 3 fish of similar size (approximately 8") on 4/2/2017 in Satellite Beach, Florida. I had no idea what they were & released them. The whiskers are hard to see in the photo, but there were about 8 in total measuring around 2". All 3 fish were caught using a pompano rig with clam flavored Fishbites. - Erik O.

man holding an 8 inch atlantic threadfin

March 17, 2017 Indialantic Beach

I caught another 8" Atlantic Threadfin today while surf fishing on Indialantic Beach in Brevard County using orange and white flea fish bite.- David D.

8 inch threadfin

February 25, 2017 Satellite Beach

Caught a couple of these today on fresh dead shrimp in Satellite Beach. Never seen these before today. Are they good for bait in the surf? It was about 8 to 10 inches. - Haylee B.

face of the atlantic threadfinside view of face of atlantic threadfin

January 18, 2017 South of inlet in Sebastian

This is my brothers catch we were confused as to what species it was:/ cool to find out! Anyway we were in Sebastian fl 3 or 4 miles south of the inlet using shrimp while fishing for pompano. The fish was very smooth and was damn near see through. Now this a 16 megapixel camera so you should get a good clear picture. - Mike M.

man holding small white threadfin fish

June 15, 2016 Pompano Beach

Fishing on Pompano beach half way between the commerical pier and pompano pier on 6/15/2016 at about 6:30 PM. I was using a jig with a swimming mullet gulp bait. Caught an Atlantic Threadfin and had no idea what it was. I have been surf fishing in Florida all my life and have never seen one of these. Came home and found it on your site. -Luke Flip

December 5, 2016 Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Beach

Hello, my name is Andrew. Last night while surf fishing a quarter mile north of anglins fishing pier, I caught this fish. I've never seen it before and had a heck of a time figuring out what it was. It was caught using a pompano rig with squid strips. Maybe 50 yards out 4-6 ft of water at roughly 9 pm. 6 inches long.

6 inch atlantic threadfin at night

February 15, 2016 Hobe Sound

I caught two this weekend on the Hobe Sound beach in Hobe Sound FL. These fish are delicious and I catch them everytime I go fishing. They have a firm white meat and it has a taste similar to snapper. I actually prefer Threadfish over snapper all day!  -Daniel M.

threadfin fish on a cutting boardthree threadfin and croaker fish live

December 27, 2015 Hobe Sound

Caught 2 of these "glass nose" fish over the weekend. Couldn't figure out what they were. A fellow fisherman came by and said they were glass nose whiting and they ate well so we kept them. Both were caught in Hobe Sound off the beach with frozen clam. One was probably 15" other about 12" We will be back next weekend for more.

man holding atlantic threadfin over a sink in his hand

October 17, 2015 Boca Raton Beach South of Inlet

Caught on fishbites sand flea flavor near south boca inlet on the beach. Around high tide in the surf. Filleted and baked them, they were very good! Non-fishy white meat similar to whiting.

Had a question, are these regulated at all? Also since they tasted very good, I'm assuming they are safe to eat, correct? Thanks for the webpage, I was stumped on what they were!

Answer: Yes, they are safe to eat and very good! And no, they are not regulated.

5 atlantic threadfin on a table

August 19, 2015 Jupiter Island

Rosario caught this 10" Atlantic threadfin on Jupiter Island while fly fishing. Rosario released the fish.

threadfin  laying in the sand with a fishing fly in it's mouth

August 9, 2015 Satellite Beach

Caught this at Satellite Beach yesterday while cast netting mullet in the surf. Never saw one caught in FL before but recognized it as a Moi, highly sought after Pacific cousin in Hawaii. Running very shallow in the surf at higher ride around 4pm. I cast at a small group of 10 inch mullet that was apparently being chased in the waves by an unseen predatory fish. Approximately 8" long. Stephen C.

man holding 8 inch atlantic threadfin and showing the wiskers closeup

July 26, 2015 Fernandina Beach

Caught at Fernandina Beach, FL. It was 13 inches and caught on a piece of dead peeled shrimp by Kenny S.

atlantic threadfin showing wiskers
atlantic threadfin with tape measure against wall
atlantic threadfin on side with tape measure

February 27, 2015

Angler Enamudega sent us pictures of several threadfins and wrote "I've caught these a few times of late from the coast in Juno Beach but this 15" one was big enough to bring home for lunch. Was set up for pompano using Fishbites strips."

15 inch atlantic threadfin on a cooler with tape measure

February 16, 2015 Juno Beach

Was fishing Juno beach with high low rig and shrimp for bait.  When landing the fish I had no idea on the speices or the regulations.  I took two photo so I can identify and released it.  Was caught on 2/16/15 around 10 am.  I did not measure but assume it was 12 inchs.  Came across your website when trying to identify the speices.  Attached our the two photos.  Thanks Chris

Atlantic threadfin alive laying in the sand on Juno beach

January 2, 2015 - Jupiter Beach on the Atlantic Ocean

Caught by Erik Withers on Jan 2, 2015 on Jupiter Beach. Using clams on a pompano rig. Tasted delicious with garlic spinach and risotto rice. See attached for pics- the flip flop is a size men's 11 (for measuring purposes).

3 atlamtic threadfinsyoung girl in pink dress with dad holdinng an atlantic threadfin

August 5, 2014 - Our First Report in the Gulf of Mexico

A forum member posted his Atlantic threadfin catch on www.2CoolFishing.com. This is our first reported catch this year in the Gulf of Mexico. The angler caught it from the beach at Surfside Beach, Texas in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico.

Hi visitors from 2CoolFishing! We just noticed forum member "Cudakilla" posted the biggest Atlantic threadfin we have ever seen! Scroll down to post number 9 to see the record-sized fish.

Aug 5, 2014

John caught 3 approx. 9 inch Atlantic Threadfins about 3 miles south of Ft. Pierce Inlet at the Blue Heron Beach access on August 5, 2014.

Threadfin on a towel

July 27, 2014

Shane Burns caught a 12.5" Atlantic threadfin, shot with speargun, on the beach in West Palm Beach. The fish was in a school of about 5 and whiting.

threadfin with a ruler on a table

July 6, 2014

Austin Scheinkman reported his catch of 11" threadfins caught over several days on Hollywood Beach in Ft. Lauderdale and he says "these fish seem a regular catch when surf fishing in Hollywood beach. They especially like to feed of the pilchards when they are running along the shores."

 

July 2, 2014

Joe Stevens caught his Atlantic threadfin at 8:30 PM on the beach in front of the Hollywood Board Walk in Ft Lauderdale using live shrimp.

atlantic threadfin on a table with a tape meausre showing 11 inches

May 26, 2014

Anthony Burr caught the Atlantic threadfin in Hobe Sound, FL at Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge on Jupiter Island.

man holding atlantic threadfin on the beach

April 20, 2014

My girls and I just returned from the beach- surf fishing for Pompano. We couldn't keep these things off the line. We returned about 10 to the ocean. All on frozen clams. Longest was about 12 inches. Never saw one until today. - Jesse Griffith

April 19, 2014

George caught the Threadfin & Whitting 4/19/14 on beach in Juno Beach, FL while Pompano fishing. Both had mature egg roe.

12 inch atlantic threadfin and whiting on a cooler

February 26, 2014

Angler Denis Labont captured several Atlantic threadfins while shore fishing .1 mile south of Gulfstream Park Beach in Palm Beach County (south of Boynton Beach). The biggest threadfin was 14.5 inches caught using shrimp. This Quebec City angler said they caught another 12" threadfin back in November and had been searching since to figure out what this fish was.

2 atlantic threadfins in a sink

atlantic threadfin right sideatlantic threadfin left side
closeup of the face of the atlantic threadfin

February 24, 2014

Florida resident Shanon L Chalfin sent us this report:
This morning, Feb 24, I caught an 11 inch Atlantic Threadfin. I have no picture unfortunately. It took me a couple of hours of scouring the internet to ID this fish. Oddly when you Google barbel and belly you get a lot of pages on body piercing. I scoured photos until I found that fish with a transparent nose, barbels between its ventral fins and pretty visible chevron pattern on its side (see picture below) as well as two dorsal a fairly the same size. I caught it in Fort Pierce between Gulfstream and South Beach accesses. About a mile south of the inlet. I found your site when trying to find more info on the fish. Thank you for having your page. This was a very odd fish to catch. Also I had forgotten to mention that it was caught on a day old (never frozen) dead shrimp.

February 11, 2014

Angler Ray Tocci sent in these pictures and wrote "Just caught this threadfin approximately 11inches today off Jupiter beach. Wasn't sure what it was and your site helped us figure it out! Thanks so much!! Here are our pics! "

man holding atlantic threadfin on jupiter beachBelly of the atlantic threadfin
Showing tail of atlantic threadfinatlantic threadfin face and wiskers
closeup of the mouth of an Atlantic threadfin

February 4, 2014

Helene from Montreal, Canada caught this Atlantic threadfin in the surf on Avalon Beach in Fort Pierce using frozen shrimp. Helene wrote "Well, Ed (from New York) and myself (Montreal, Canada) were thrilled to finally ID the fish. Was released to grow up! Send us the link when the photo appears. Thanks."

person on the beach holding an Atlantic threadfin on Avalon Beach Ft Pierce

January 18, 2014

Goran caught several Atlantic Threadfins while surf fishing on Dania Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale. Goran asked us to help ID this species so we posted the pictures on Facebook and with the help of many readers, we were able to determine it is indeed an Atlantic Threadfin. Goran says "Best I can describe it as having bluefish body and drum like snout. Larger one is about 15 inches."

2 atlantic threadfin on a tablecloseup of the face of an atlantic threadfin fish
atlantic threadfin showing long wiskersatlantic threadfin on a table

Report Your Catch

If you catch an Atlantic threadfin, please Contact us and tell us where and when you caught one. If you have pictures, send them too!