Porgies In May

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by porgylber

Very true. The largest porgies that I’ve ever caught inshore, were from Greenport, Long Island. All were monster sized, the size of which we normally only see offshore from NJ. Although having said this, there were days late last summer and early fall where larger porgies were caught in NJ waters.

Truth be told, I actually prefer to catch them a little smaller. I find that a 10 or 11 inch porgy on light tackle, actually puts up a better battle than a 14 or 15 inch specimen. Plus, the smaller guys taste better on the table! The meat is sweeter, with out the larger blood line that the bigger fish have.

Years ago, the big porgies were pretty rare in NJ.. We would catch "sand porgies" in the rivers and bays in Aug-Oct, but a 10 incher was big.. The small ones were much sweeter for certain.. We never missed them much because tog and sea bass were year round, and no bag or size limits.. Any good size porgies caught in the rocky areas off Sea Bright/Deal/Elberon were a bonus..

Personally, I think there is less competition for food and living space these days in their habitat, and they are very well adapted , and have rebounded nicely... bob