Which fish is which?
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RALPH ALLEN Check out this cool photo we dredged up from our archives. It shows a juvenile permit (the upper fish) alongside an average-sized pompano (the lower fish). As you can see the two species are very similar, but a side-by-side comparison of the two fish reveals several distinct differences between the them. Unfortunately some of the differences are difficult to judge (or to remember) when you’re only looking at one fish and you’re trying to determine the species. Probably the easiest way to tell them apart is this: Look at the overall body shape. Ignore the tail and all the other fins, and ignore all the markings. If the body is generally diamond-shaped, the fish is a permit If the body is generally oval, it’s a pompano.
WaterLine Publisher
If you’ve ever mistaken one fish for another, you’re in good company. Plenty of local anglers have proudly brought a jack crevalle to the fillet table, thinking it’s a pompano. If you take a look online, you’ll see many gag misidentified as black grouper. I’ve seen charter captains — guys who spend 200-plus days a year on the water — disagree over how to tell a small kingfish from a big Spanish mackerel. If the professionals can’t tell, what chance have you got?
Fortunately, if you’re paying attention, there are always ways to tell similar species apart without resorting to DNA testing (actually, that’s not true — but it will do for our purposes. Knowing the identifying characteristics is the key. Let’s start with the easiest ones first. Stick with me, because there’s a lot to go through.
