Footlong Scup
 

We took the ride across from SH to some mussel beds on the NY side.
There was a good fluke bite until the drift died out. That's when I decided to break out some light stuff and spend the time waiting for a drift by dropping down on some marks. Bingo! Get your scup on! I could have filled a bucket with solid 12-14 inchers but only kept enough for dinner. Before the drift came up again, we caught a few sea bass up to 2 lbs. There were no giant flatties but enough 20" fish to keep us happy. I thought it was early for porgies around here but obviously they are here.

Re: Footlong Scup
 

Nice, They are delicious, Good job getting them.
NJ Porgys are not as big as ny and conn it is worth the extra couple mile ride to get em

Re: Footlong Scup
 

They are closer than most NJ fishermen know. If they are where we caught them, they should be at SH Reef and Scotland. Right now they are cooking on the grill. Any recipes out there?

Re: Footlong Scup
 

Won't be very many at Sandy Hook Reef and Scotland until September. The main body of fish don't go down the beach very early anymore. They stay jammed up around the Bay and Coney Island until the temps start to drop.

Re: Footlong Scup
 

agreed.. I could NEVER figure out why, but the the Sheepshead Bay head boats for years would be slamming big porgies, while right across the bay, the NJ boats simply didn't see them in big numbers, even with the great habitat we have.. Perhaps the rocky bottom doesn't have the preferred food for big schools of porgies... Several times over the I have been on party boats catching porgies on smooth bottom, in the Ambrose area.. The captain would make a move south to some rocky bottom, or a wreck to try and find some sea bass, and that was the end of the big porgies.. Any porgies caught were smaller, and in much smaller numbers.. It seems that big schools of BIG porgies, don't seem to favor areas that Tog and sea bass seem to like...Yes porgies tog and sea bass ARE often caught together, but when I have caught good numbers of big porgies, it was ALL porgies.. YMMV.... bob

Re: Footlong Scup
 

We used to get them way inshore in decent numbers in July and August and in force in Sept and Oct. Now it seems like even the later run stops at the Sandy Hook Reef.

Re: Footlong Scup
 

I did some Greek style with some of the big ones I caught in Mass last month and they came out great if you like whole fish. I took off the head and guts with one knifechop and trimmed the fins. Then I slathered in Olive oil and rubbed down with a little salt and pepper. I did not remove the scales.

Then I just put on a very hot grill for a few minutes per side. The scales form a charred layer or fall off. Pick off the bones and squeeze some fresh lemon. Yum.