Saltwater · Year-round offshore; best from spring through fall

Red Porgy

Pagrus pagrus

A pink-silvery porgy with a steep head, common over Atlantic and Gulf hard bottom. In the northern Gulf it is widely sold and served as 'white snapper' — but it is a porgy (a sea bream), NOT a true snapper, so do not confuse it with snapper species or their rules.

Seasons · Peak

Jan

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Red Porgy — Photo: Liné1, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Wikimedia Commons

Identifying features

Silvery-pink body, darker pink on the back and head
Steep, blunt head profile, almost vertical in front of the eye
Small mouth with incisor-like front teeth and molar rows for crushing shellfish
Young fish show faint blue spots in rows along the upper sides
A dark smudge at the upper base of the pectoral fin on many fish

Habits

Lives over hard bottom in 60-200 ft (18-60 m), not inside high reef
Feeds on crabs, sea urchins, mollusks and shrimp crushed with its molars
Holds in loose groups just above the bottom rather than hiding in structure
Bites small baits readily once found, often in good numbers
Slow-growing and long-lived, so large fish are old fish

Distribution

Charleston, SC · North & South Carolina★ Primary

Atlanta, GA · GeorgiaCommon

Venice, LA · Louisiana & Gulf ShoreCommon

Emerald Coast, FL · FloridaCommon

Daytona Beach, FL · FloridaCommon

Where to find them

Carolinas offshore hard bottom and live bottom
Georgia and northeast Florida offshore ledges
Northern Gulf live bottom off the Florida Panhandle and Louisiana

Where they live

Hard bottom and live bottom in 60-200 ft (18-60 m)Offshore ledges and low-relief reefRocky and shell bottom along the continental shelf

How to catch them

Chicken rigs over hard bottom Boat

Rig: Two-hook chicken rig with a 2-4 oz bank sinker and small circle hooks, fished vertically over hard bottom in 60-200 ft (18-60 m)

Bait/lure: Squid strips and cut bait

Key tip: Keep the rig straight up and down and the baits small — porgies pick at big baits without getting hooked.

Small jigs tipped with squid Boat

Rig: 1-3 oz jig or jig head tipped with a squid strip, worked slowly along offshore ledges and live bottom

Bait/lure: Squid strips on small jigs

Key tip: Fish it close to the bottom with short hops; most bites come as the jig settles.

Best baits & lures

Squid stripsCut fish baitShrimp and crab pieces

Techniques for Red Porgy →

Baseline setup

Rod: Medium 6.5-7 ft boat rod
Line: 30-50 lb braid with a mono leader
Terminal: Chicken rigs, 1/0-2/0 circle hooks, bank sinkers

Recommended gear for this species

Rod · Best value

9' 5-weight fly rod outfit

≈ US$180-260

Covers chironomid lakes and small rivers with one setup.

Flies · Budget

Chironomid assortment (30 patterns)

≈ US$25-40

Chironomids are 60% of a lake rainbow's diet in spring.

Picks come from our rule library — never paid placements. Prices are guides; affiliate links may earn us a commission.

Typical size

Common 1-3 lb (0.5-1.4 kg); large fish to about 6 lb (2.7 kg)

On the table

Good — firm, white, tasty flakes; a prized food fish despite the 'white snapper' nickname.

Similar species

Jolthead PorgyJolthead porgy is larger and silvery with brassy spots in rows on shallower Florida reefs; red porgy is clearly pink with a steeper, pinker head

ScupScup is a much smaller northern porgy, plain silvery with no pink flush; red porgy is pink-silvery, deeper-bodied and far larger

Regulations vary by area and can change in-season — always check the official rules for your area before you fish. Regulations guide →

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