Belize City & the Cayes

Tarpon

Megalops atlanticus

The silver king — a giant, chrome, leaping gamefish that defines Florida's late-spring flats and passes. Sight-fished with bait or fly, it is a fish of a lifetime.

Bonefish

Albula vulpes

The grey ghost of the flats — a mirror-silver speedster that feeds tailing in inches of water in the Florida Keys and on Oahu, and burns off line like nothing its size.

Permit

Trachinotus falcatus

The holy grail of the flats — a deep-bodied, crab-crunching phantom of the Florida Keys, and the hardest of the flats grand slam to fool.

Gray Snapper

Lutjanus griseus

Florida's everywhere snapper — gray (mangrove) snapper live under every dock and mangrove in the state, then grow bold and heavy on Gulf reefs in summer. Perfect first snapper on light tackle.

Yellowtail Snapper

Ocyurus chrysurus

The signature snapper of the Florida Keys — yellowtail rise off the reef into a chum slick and reward light line, small baits and patience. Summer nights and steady chumming produce flag-sized fish.

Black Grouper

Mycteroperca bonaci

The heavyweight grouper of Florida and the Keys, a solitary reef predator that bolts for its hole the instant it is hooked. Winter spawning aggregations get extra protection, so check seasonal closures before a winter trip. A prime food fish and a genuine test of heavy tackle.

Cubera Snapper

Lutjanus cyanopterus

The largest snapper in the western Atlantic, a grey-brown giant that can pass 100 lb (45 kg) with huge canine teeth and thick lips. It is a separate species from the Pacific cubera (Lutjanus novemfasciatus) of the eastern Pacific — the two are close relatives, not the same fish. Adults gather on deep reefs and spawn in summer full-moon aggregations that are heavily protected in places, so check current rules before targeting them; very large fish also carry a ciguatera caution.

Mayan Cichlid

Mayaheros urophthalmus

The Mayan cichlid is a hardy Central American cichlid now widespread in South Florida canals, marshes and the Everglades. It tolerates salt water and spreads through canals, bites small baits aggressively, and makes a fine panfish. In Mexico, the same species complex is the 'tenguayaca', a valued local food fish.

Threadfin Bonefish

Albula nemoptera

The estuarine bonefish of the western Caribbean — Belize and Honduras lagoons to Costa Rica and Panama, told by the thread-like elongated last ray of the dorsal fin. A wary lagoon fish for fly and light-tackle anglers, catch-and-release in Belize.

Tenguayaca (Bay Snook)

Petenia splendida

The big predatory cichlid of Tabasco, Chiapas, Petén and Belize — the local tenguayaca, a fish-eater with a spectacularly protrusible mouth, fished in green and pink-red forms in lakes and slow rivers.

Western Atlantic Sea Bream

Archosargus rhomboidalis

A small, tough little porgy of lagoons, mangrove swamps and grass flats — more an inshore fish than a reef fish. It tolerates brackish water and is a regular catch around docks and grass beds.

Mahogany Snapper

Lutjanus mahogoni

A small, big-eyed Caribbean snapper of clear shallow reefs, reddish-brown like polished mahogany. It gathers in daytime schools and feeds at night, and is a classic light-tackle reef fish.

Palometa

Trachinotus goodei

A small, deep-bodied pompano of surf and clear bays, famous for the long black streamers on its dorsal and anal fins. It schools in the wash, feeds on sand-dwelling prey and is a favourite light-tackle beach fish.

Southern Sennet

Sphyraena borealis

A small, schooling barracuda relative of Florida and Caribbean inshore water, forever in motion over mud and reef. Taxonomy note: the fish long called southern sennet (Sphyraena picudilla) is treated by Catalog of Fishes as the same species as the northern sennet, Sphyraena borealis.

Sergeant Major

Abudefduf saxatilis

The Atlantic's bold little striped damselfish, in yellow-green with five black bars, swarming over shallow reef tops and around piers. Taxonomy matters here: FishBase is explicit that Abudefduf saxatilis is strictly Atlantic — the look-alike Pacific fish is a separate species, Abudefduf troschelii, so no Pacific distribution is claimed on this page.

Hospe Mullet

Mugil hospes

An amph-American mullet found on both coasts — in the Atlantic from Belize southward and in the eastern Pacific from mainland Mexico to Ecuador — grazing algae and detritus in lagoons and estuaries.

Atlantic Threadfin (Barbu)

Polydactylus virginicus

The barbu is a small Caribbean threadfin with seven free pectoral filaments, common over sand and mud in surf and estuaries and a frequent, willing catch on small shrimp baits.

Queen Triggerfish

Balistes vetula

⚠ The queen of Caribbean reefs — a spectacular blue-streamered triggerfish that blows water to topple sea urchins; IUCN lists it as Near Threatened with declining populations, so fish responsibly, follow local rules, and release where required.

Orangespotted Filefish

Cantherhines pullus

A shy western Atlantic filefish of shallow reefs, recognised by orange spots on the rear body; mostly an incidental catch on small reef baits and best released.

Bandtail Puffer

Sphoeroides spengleri

A small western Atlantic puffer of seagrass and reef flats, recognised by the dark band at its tail base — poisonous like other puffers and always to be released, never eaten.

Redtail Parrotfish

Sparisoma chrysopterum

A common Caribbean parrotfish that grazes algae from reef and rock, keeping reef surfaces open for coral — an encounter species best admired and released, as parrotfish are discouraged as food in many places for their grazing role.

Yellowtail Parrotfish

Sparisoma rubripinne

A widespread Caribbean parrotfish — yellow-tailed as a juvenile/initial-phase fish and red-finned as a terminal male — that grazes algae off reefs and is best released to keep reefs clean for coral.