Expert tips for targeting scup this upcoming season.
Porgies are best described as the saltwater equivalent of bluegills or sunfish. These flat, deep-bodied scrappers are easy to catch, fun for everyone, and excellent eating. Pound for pound, porgies are extremely strong fish, especially when turned broadside to the current in deep water and matched with appropriate tackle. Here are some strategies the pros use to increase their catch.
“Porgies move into our area in mid to late May and June to spawn,” says Capt. Mike Stepski, owner of the Tartan II bottom-fishing boat out of Niantic, CT. “During that time, they’re primarily on sandy bottom. After they spawn, they start to fetch up in the rocky bottom areas. You can catch them in these locations all summer, and by September they’re really taking hold, and the fishing is as good as it gets all year.”
Like any other type of fishing, location is the primary element to porgy success. While most sand bottoms and rocky structures hold scup, ideally search out a broken bottom of mixed rock and shellfish beds – porgies love foraging on juvenile mussels. Passages between reefs and large, sandy holes in reefs are coveted hotspots. A chart and depthfinder are important for pinpointing these locations.
Scup are also found off beaches on bottoms, composed of sand and gravel, featuring contours up to 30 feet deep. Many anglers simply pick a spot along a drop-off, plop over an anchor, and stay put. Porgies aren’t shy and usually hit immediately if present. After anchoring, the pros say if you don’t hook up within 10 minutes you should move and re-anchor until you find a school. Although it’s more work, experts also recommend relocating if you find small porgies swarming your baits as they typically cluster by size.
Another trick the pros use in shallow water is chumming. The best chum for porgies is crushed clams, mussels, or periwinkles. Experts also like frozen, commercially-ground clam chum commonly used for winter flounder. In a pinch, even canned cat food or tuna will work. Place the chum in a small, weighted chum pot and lower it from the bow to the bottom on narrow paracord or similar heavy-duty twine.
The pros set the pot from the bow, rather than the stern, to draw the fish closer under the boat where their hooks rest. This bow-rigging trick also helps prevent their hooks and lines from tangling with the chum pot. Give the chum pot a shake every 15 to 20 minutes to help release more particles. And don’t forget to refill it, as needed.
Deepwater porgy hotspots can range from 30 to 100-plus feet deep. Some seasoned anglers drift for porgies where the waters are too deep for reasonable anchoring. Drifting is also an effective means of locating a school on open bottom, and then pros anchor on the cluster, if feasible, or use their tracking device to repeat successful drifts.
Experts fish two hooks to lessen the chance of a bare hook unknowingly picked clean, as well as to increase the chance of a double, of course. Multiple baits can draw multiple fish because porgies become more aggressive when competing for food.
In rocky areas when the bite is red hot, however, some sharpies revert to single hooks to reduce tangles, speed turnaround time, and lessen bottom hangs. Some anglers prefer long-shanked hooks to aid in ease of unhooking, but experts say that porgies may shy away from an unusually long shank.
A typical hi/lo rig works well in most situations, with snelled hooks tied eight inches apart above the sinker. A solid choice is the Fin Strike #461 with #2 or #4 beak hooks. Sinker size with such a rig could vary from 2 to 12 ounce, depending on current and depth. You need to experiment, but always select the lightest sinker that tends bottom.
When targeting large “humpback” or “dinner plate” porgies, experts bypass the less expensive “gold” porgy hooks because they can snap while fighting big fish or during rigorous unhooking. A better choice is the Fin Strike Pro-Series #2 snelled Gamakatsu bait-holder hooks. These are stronger and sharper, and they resist rusting better.
Big porgies are striking fish. If your goal is to weed out the smaller keeper scup and only target truly large fish, try a sabiki-style hi/lo rig with hooks adorned with an unweighted bucktail skirt or small plastic squid skirt, and then tip the hook with squid or clam strip. Give the rig a slight jigging action, keeping the sinker just bouncing off the bottom with no more than a 12-inch lift at any time. And then hang on!
