Side by Side

Black Sea Bass Centropristis striata

Typical: 11–17 in, 1–3 lb

Quickest tell: The long single spiny dorsal with rows of white spots, plus the trailing top tail-ray filament (and bluish nuchal hump) on adults, separate it from the blunt rubbery-lipped tautog and the deeper-bodied, smaller-mouthed scup.

• stocky body, smoky gray to blue-black, often with light spots and lines in rows along the fins
• single long dorsal fin with stout sharp spines
• rounded fins, the dorsal with pale spots/streaks
• elongated top tail-fin ray (filament) trailing on large fish
• fleshy nuchal hump, often bluish, on big spawning males

Full Black Sea Bass guide — season, gear and rules →

Scup / Porgy Stenotomus chrysops

Typical: 8–14 in, 0.5–2 lb

Quickest tell: The deep silvery oval body with a tiny blunt mouth and no fangs or incisors marks a scup; black sea bass is darker, longer-bodied, and shows white-spotted fin rows, while sheepshead wears bold black bars and protruding front teeth.

• deep, compressed silvery body, sometimes with faint dusky bars
• small mouth, blunt snout, no canine or incisor teeth (rows of small teeth only)
• single dorsal fin with sharp spines
• slightly forked tail
• iridescent silvery flanks, sometimes dusky-blotched

Full Scup / Porgy guide — season, gear and rules →

When Each Is Running July — current month highlighted

Where Black Sea Bass and Scup / Porgy Overlap

Both run in Mid-Atlantic, Northeast — that is where telling them apart actually matters.

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