Scup don't get a lot of publicity. You can't even find them in most fish markets on the Cape and Islands. But scup - or "porgy," as they're also known - can be delicious to eat. And they sure are fun for kids to catch.
Scup are relatively small fish, usually under two pounds. They're a bottom-dwelling, schooling fish, which means that once you locate them, you usually can keep pulling them up. This keeps kids busy (busy kids = fun). And scup are just the right size, and have just the right amount of fight, to delight children in catching them.
Fish for scup with a bit of squid on a small hook with just enough weight to get it to the bottom. The minimum size for scup this year in Massachusetts is 10".
How to eat them? Well, Kevin Blinkoff, of On The Water magazine, likes to scale his scup and grill them whole - which certainly is easy and delicious. Individual scup don't have a lot of meat, but they can be worth taking the trouble to fillet. Be aware that each filet has a lateral line of tiny bones down the center. Your best bet for dealing with this is to slice that bone line out, leaving you with 2 pieces for each fillet. These can be lightly floured and pan-fried to use to make delicious fish tacos. Also consider making scup ceviche.
The Fishing Round-up: Reports have the striped bass action slowing (no surprise for this time of year). The first reports of bonito have come in, and the action farther offshore is heating up. Details in the audio above - give it a listen.