Any fish belonging to the Sparidae family is commonly known as Porgy. Porgies are small fish that live in shallow water and can be found in both tropical and temperate waters. For this reason, when it comes to porgy fishing in Miami, inshore fishing is the way to go. Porgies are bottom-dwelling carnivores with strong teeth. Most don’t grow any bigger than a foot, but some can reach up to four times that length. Porgies are really easy to catch; they’re mostly small and don’t put up much of a fight.
While porgies are not particularly known as food, they’re a white-fleshed, medium fatty fish with a delicate flavor.
Jolthead Porgy
Offshore, near reefs, rocks, and wrecks, the Jolthead Porgy can be found in 30-180 feet of water. The Jolthead has a blue line under its eyes and an orange ring around its mouth. Mollusks and crustaceans are the primary sources of food for this type of Porgy. Jolthead porgies are excellent food fish that can be easily captured with a hook and line on the bottom or fish traps. They are regarded as game fish with only limited commercial value.
Red Porgy
The Red Porgy is a rare find due to population declines caused by previous overfishing. You can find the Porgy in waters ranging from 60 miles down to the continental shelf’s edge. The Red Porgy is a bottom feeder that feeds on snails, crabs, sea urchins from structures, worms, and small fishes. The red Porgy is a fish with a deep body and an oblong shape. The standard length is 30 in, although it’s not rare to find them at half of that length.
Saucereye Porgy
The Saucereye Porgy is 11 to 22 inches long and weighs between 1 1/2 and 3 pounds. This Porgy feeds on several animals, including sea urchins, brittle stars, mollusks, sea worms, hermit crabs, crabs, and reefs around Key West.
