Best scup (porgy) lakes in Rhode Island
11 Rhode Island waters list scup (porgy) (official records or labelled estimates), 11 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
- Sakonnet River — 89 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #2: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- East Passage — 200 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #3: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 3 public access sites
- West Passage — 96 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #4: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 2 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Ninigret Pond — 7 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 · 2 public access sites
- Point Judith Pond — 16 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 · 5 public access sites, 1 carry-in or shore-oriented
- Point Judith Harbor of Refuge — 35 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #7: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Sachuest Bay — 50 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #8: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Easton Bay — 40 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #9: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Coddington Cove — 60 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #10: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
- Brenton Cove — 29 ft max · real survey depth contours · Striped Bass, Summer Flounder (Fluke), Bluefish, Black Sea BassWhy #11: survey-backed contours receive the ranking's data-quality boost · 1 public access site
Find the closest scup (porgy) waters to you →
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 Rhode Island waters with public access data
When to fish scup (porgy) in Rhode Island
- 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 Rhode Island: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best striped bass lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best chain pickerel lakes · best pumpkinseed lakes · best summer flounder (fluke) lakes · best bluefish lakes · best black sea bass lakes · best tautog (blackfish) lakes
Scup (Porgy) elsewhere: New York · Massachusetts · Connecticut