Golden Tilefish
Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps
Unverified
Handling & regulations: Confirmed live as of 2026-08-08: recreational anglers need a federal recreational tilefish permit to target golden or blueline tilefish — a free Private Recreational Tilefish Permit for private boats, or a Charter/Party Tilefish Permit for for-hire trips — plus mandatory trip reporting. Golden tilefish's recreational possession limit is 8 fish/angler/trip with no size limit; blueline tilefish is 7/person/trip, per the most recent check. Tilefish is also named on the FDA/EPA joint 'Choices to Avoid' (highest-mercury) list alongside shark, swordfish, and king mackerel — this project couldn't get a clean direct fetch of the current live FDA chart (repeated 403/404s), but this is corroborated consistently across multiple independent secondary sources describing the same stable, years-old joint advisory. Pregnant/nursing people and young children should avoid it; everyone else should eat it only occasionally.
Commonly confused with: Blueline Tilefish. If you're not sure which one you've caught, treat it as the more restricted species and release it until you can confirm.
Where this fish fits
These are discovery categories describing where anglers realistically fish for this species, not a guarantee this project has confirmed regional access at every listed setting — see the linked locations below for this project's own actually-sourced spots.
- Typical season
- Fished offshore in deep water year-round when conditions allow; a serious boat/gear commitment, not a casual trip.
- Habitats
- Deep offshore canyon edges and continental shelf drop-offs, often 300+ feet down
- Food use
- Eat with caution
Data not yet verified.
This site hasn't checked for a fish-consumption advisory covering this species yet. That is not the same as confirmed safe — check current official guidance before eating your catch.
Recipes for Golden Tilefish
Eat with caution — check the advisory notice above before eating your catch.
Seasons, size limits, and possession limits change and vary by water body. Always check the current regulations at the current regulations page before you fish.
- Bait & lures
- Deep-dropped squid or cut bait on electric or heavy conventional tackle
- Beginner difficulty
- Challenging
Drawn from a named source but not independently confirmed. Double-check before relying on it.
Season, habitat, and bait notes reflect general regional angling knowledge and have not been individually checked against official data. The regulation link was confirmed live as of 2026-08-08 — always check it before you fish, since seasons and limits change. Unlike the general habitat/bait notes, the permit requirement, bag limits, and mercury-advisory status above were directly confirmed (bag limits/permit live; mercury status via consistent secondary-source corroboration, noted above) as of 2026-08-08 — the permit is an easy requirement to miss since it's separate from both the VA saltwater license and the HMS permit system.