Gigantic Chops

[porgylber]

I was out on a party boat for some sea bass fishing yesterday. Had to pick through numerous shorts, however I still managed to put a respectable catch in the cooler. However, the big news was the size of the pork chops! I’ve been porgy fishing for over 40 years. I can remember catching big ones as a kid. I can remember catching big fish out on the eastern end of Long Island. However, nothing like what I saw and caught yesterday. My biggest fish was 21 inches! The average size was probably around 18 inches! In fact, that 21 inch fish didn’t even win the pool. That porgy had to be 23-24 inches.
The other interesting thing: they didn’t fight like typical porgies coming up. No head shaking crazy fight. Just steady pressure. Maybe they become more docile as they age and get bigger?
What a great day!

[NoLimit]

They are great eating too- better than fluke

[reason162]

Would love to see a photo of a 23" porgy, lying on a marked board.

Definitely some monster porgies around this year!

[bulletbob]

I hope the porgies are here to stay in the NY Bight area.. Without them, there would be nothing much for the head boats to fish for in the time between fluke closing and sea bass opening, except for blues... bob

[Meat Hunter]

23" Porgy..... Pics?

Meat Hunter

[bulletbob]

They are great eating too- better than fluke

meh.. I wouldn't go that far... I used to like the little bay porgies to eat,,, most wouldn't even make the 9 inch limit these days.. They weren't near as strong as the big ones that are caught these days.. those big porgies over say 12 inches are a blast to catch though!

[porgylber]

23" Porgy..... Pics?

Meat Hunter

Sorry to say the battery on my phone died yesterday. I measured my fish on the top of my cooler. It came in at 21 inches. When held up against the pool fish, it was at least 2 and maybe 3 inches smaller.
I’ve honestly never seen larger porgies in my life.

[teddysclaw]

If the porgy was 23 inches..... That's a world record no? I believe a 18 or 19 inch fish is around 4 pounds. The world record is 4lbs 9 ounces. A 23 inch porgy would destroy that.


What party boat was this on? I'm definitely gonna head out there if they're catching 18+inch porgies. Hot damn. That's crazy stuff.

[porgylber]

If the porgy was 23 inches..... That's a world record no? I believe a 18 or 19 inch fish is around 4 pounds. The world record is 4lbs 9 ounces. A 23 inch porgy would destroy that.


What party boat was this on? I'm definitely gonna head out there if they're catching 18+inch porgies. Hot damn. That's crazy stuff.

PM sent.

[dakota560]

Based on this link which was just posted in the fresh water forum, NJ state record is 5'14". http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/09/new_jersey_biggest_fish_records.html

This isn't a good pic but we caught these fish October '15, probably not far from the area the party boat was fishing in this thread. At the time we didn't know what the world or NJ records were. the porgies were the absolute biggest I've ever seen. The second one in behind the ling was 4'14" and the first one was 5'6". Not sure of length just weight. The larger sea bass in the pic was about 4.5 lbs., the porgy was almost as long but the thickness on it was insane. It's good to see how these fish have rebounded the last few years, hopefully it bodes well for the future of this fishery. Unlike what the original poster mentioned, these fish fought just like a porgy the entire way up. Great day, had we known!

[Capt Joe]

23 inch Scup? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b5aW08ivHU

;)

(relax, just bustin')