Why not make the most of fishing for porgies by scaling down your tackle?
The porgy or scup is one of the most plentiful species that lives in our waters, and can be counted on for rod-bending fun for anglers of all ages. They can be found from Maine to the Carolinas, and belong to the family of fishes called Sparidae. Porgies can reach lengths of 20 inches and weigh up to 5 pounds. I simply love to get some porgy trips in every year and look forward to the fine table fare that they provide. To me, they’re the panfish of the East Coast and can be caught from spring through fall!
To make angling for scup even more fun I go really light with my tackle. In doing so, it dramatically highlights the pulling power of these saltwater scrappers. The really big ones that my buddies and I call “hubcaps” or “dinner plates” can be all out battlers on these light combos. The tackle I’m talking about is on par for what you would use for trout in freshwater. Rods from 5 to 6 1/2 feet with braid from 4 to 6-pound test will have anyone smiling ear to ear when hooking into one of these brutes.
The rigging is very simple. I like to use a 3-foot leader of mono or fluorocarbon of around 15- pound test connected to the braid with a double uni knot. Tie on a small porgy jig or any round head jig in weights from quarter to 1 ounce and tip with some clam, squid or sandworm. Get it down to the bottom and slowly bounce it until you feel a fish pecking. Slowly lift and set when you feel some weight. This setup will work great in shallow water and also in the deeper sections. When the current starts moving faster you can adjust the weight of the jig accordingly. In the deeper waters when letting the jig down to the bottom, count the number of rod lifts and drops with your bail open, or free spool if using a baitcasting reel until the line goes slack. On you next drop you now know the set amount of line to hit bottom .This method allows the light jig to freefall to the bottom quickly and you will be ready to strike. Many times as soon as the jig hits bottom the fish will be on it and you want to be ready. Also flipping the jig up current and freespooling line will give it time to settle in front of you .Just stay in contact with the jig and follow along adding some line to make sure you’re on the bottom.
This light tackle setup has worked for me on party boats, kayaks, jetty docks and beaches. When you find a good concentration of fish, the action can be fast and furious. Chumming with clam chum is a good to keep the porgies in your area and will get the action to heat up even more. When casting from the beach, slowly jig and pause as you search for fish, and note where you are getting hits so you can stay in the zone.
Small porgy jigs are available in many tackle shops, or you can search online for them. Pompano jigs are very similar and work fine. A buddy of mine even used plain shad darts and scored some impressive specimens. Another way of enticing the porgies is using smaller Gulp baits on a leadhead, or slices of Fishbites. With the abundance of porgies around, why not make the most of fishing for porgies by scaling down your tackle and dialing up the fun meter? Bring the kids or someone that wants to get into fishing and let the fun begin!
