Best scup (porgy) lakes in Massachusetts
34 Massachusetts waters list scup (porgy) (official records or labelled estimates), 34 mapped with survey or official-chart depth data. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality, leading with the waters in our reviewed search catalog — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. A schooling Northeast bottom fish that gathers along rocks, piers, channel shoulders and other hard relief through the warm season.
- Buzzards Bay — 146 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 5 public access sites
- Plymouth Bay — 66 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Plymouth Harbor — 37 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Nantucket Harbor — 42 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Duxbury Bay — 34 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Edgartown Harbor — 38 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #6: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Sippican Harbor — 25 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Cape Poge Bay — 19 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Hyannis Harbor — 26 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Head of The Harbor — 25 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Acushnet River — 53 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Centerville Harbor — 25 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #12: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Chatham Harbor — 45 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #13: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Pleasant Bay — 24 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #14: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Vineyard Haven Harbor — 45 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Madaket Harbor — 24 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #16: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Nasketucket Bay — 22 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Katama Bay — 19 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #18: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Lagoon Pond — 41 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #19: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Menemsha Bight — 43 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Warren Cove — 39 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #21: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Stage Harbor — 21 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #22: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Menemsha Pond — 27 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #23: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Clarks Cove — 25 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #24: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Little Pleasant Bay — 18 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #25: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
…plus 9 more Massachusetts waters holding scup (porgy).
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How to use this ranking
The order is a map-planning ranking, not a claim about today's fish population. It favors larger mapped waters and gives survey-backed contours a three-times data-quality boost. Agency population surveys, current regulations, access and recent conditions should make the final decision.
Compare maximum depth across 37,233 lake records · See Massachusetts waters with public access data
When to fish scup (porgy) in Massachusetts
- Spring 5–25 ft — Look for the first schools on measured rocks, groins and channel-side structure, then keep the bait just above bottom.
- Summer 6–35 ft — Schools work hard structure and channel shoulders; use light tackle, small baits and move after a short drift without contact.
- Fall 8–40 ft — Follow cooling-water schools from shallow harbor structure toward deeper measured shoulders and connected-water exits.
- Winter 12–50 ft — Most scup leave small harbors for deeper water; any winter zone is a low-confidence search for holdovers, not a claim of exact local occurrence.
Also in Massachusetts: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best northern pike lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best striped bass lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best brown trout lakes · best brook trout lakes · best chain pickerel lakes · best rock bass lakes · best white perch lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best brown bullhead lakes · best summer flounder (fluke) lakes · best winter flounder lakes · best bluefish lakes · best black sea bass lakes · best tautog (blackfish) lakes · best atlantic mackerel lakes · best atlantic cod lakes
Scup (Porgy) elsewhere: New York · Connecticut · Rhode Island