Best scup (porgy) lakes in New York
57 New York waters list scup (porgy) (official records or labelled estimates), 57 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.
- Lower Bay — 104 ft · Survey depth data · 65% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #1: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Great Peconic Bay — 42 ft · Survey depth data · 99% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- Smithtown Bay — 74 ft · Survey depth data · 99% measured · 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, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Napeague Bay — 62 ft · Survey depth data · 97% measured · 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
- Shinnecock Bay — 15 ft · Survey depth data · 99% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #5: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- South Oyster Bay — 34 ft · Survey depth data · 93% measured · 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
- Sloop Channel — 48 ft · Survey depth data · 88% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 2 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Hempstead Harbor — 38 ft · Survey depth data · 90% measured · 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
- Reynolds Channel — 67 ft · Survey depth data · 80% measured · 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
- Huntington Bay — 54 ft · Survey depth data · 87% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Rockaway Inlet — 60 ft · Survey depth data · 91% measured · 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
- Beach Channel — 68 ft · Survey depth data · 82% measured · 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
- Manhasset Bay — 54 ft · Survey depth data · 84% measured · 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
- Eastchester Bay — 40 ft · Survey depth data · 86% measured · 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, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Flanders Bay — 15 ft · Survey depth data · 99% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #15: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Coecles Harbor — 28 ft · Survey depth data · 98% measured · 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
- Three Mile Harbor — 14 ft · Survey depth data · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, WeakfishWhy #17: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- False Hook Channel — 33 ft · Survey depth data · 88% measured · 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
- Port Jefferson Harbor — 51 ft · Survey depth data · 99% measured · 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
- Lloyd Harbor — 28 ft · Survey depth data · 98% measured · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Winter Flounder, BluefishWhy #20: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites
- Pierhead Channel — 56 ft · Survey depth data · 100% measured · 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, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Bay Ridge Channel — 51 ft · Survey depth data · 100% measured · 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
- Mamaroneck Harbor — 21 ft · Survey depth data · 94% measured · 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
- Northwest Harbor — 40 ft · Survey depth data · 99% measured · 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
- East Rockaway Inlet — 41 ft · Survey depth data · 98% measured · 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 32 more New York 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 New York waters with public access data
When to fish scup (porgy) in New York
- 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.
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Scup (Porgy) elsewhere: Massachusetts · Connecticut · Rhode Island