Download the mobile app!
Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Check out our new Android or iOS app for Fishing Status.
The long awaited return of our mobie app is back on Apple App Store and Google Play
Scamp
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Mycteroperca phenax |
| Common Names: | scamp |
| Environment: | Nearshore, Offshore |
| Ideal Temp: | >=50°F (10°C) |
About Scamp
The Scamp grouper (Mycteroperca phenax), is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is part of the family Serranidae, which also includes the anthias and sea basses. Scamp can be found in the western Atlantic Ocean from North Carolina south along the southern Atlantic coast of the United States into the Gulf of Mexico where it has been recorded as far south as Belize, but it is absent from much of the West Indies It is also found along the Caribbean coast of South America from Colombia to Tobago. Juveniles are sometimes recorded as far north as Massachusetts and a vagrant has been caught in the Azores.
The scamp grouper is found at depths of 0 to 100 metres (0 to 328 ft), the adults are found over rock ledges and rocky bottoms with high relief usually deeper than 30 metres (98 ft). Juveniles are found in reefs in shallower water and will enter estuaries and mangroves. The adults will migrate from deep water to shallower water when the temperature drops below 8.6 °C (47.5 °F) at the bottom of the water column. It is a protogynous hermaphrodite forming small, short-lived spawning aggregations, which may be ten to a few hundred strong over offshore reefs with high relief along the edge of the continental shelf. These take place from February until July in United States Atlantic waters and in the Gulf of Mexico, peaking from March to the middle of May.Scamp are the most numerous grouper in areas of living Oculina reefs at depths between 70 to 100 metres (230 to 330 ft) off the eastern coast of Florida. It has been suggested that scamp prefer areas of high topographic complexity as they are relatively small in size and they can use overhangs, ledges and caves to shelter from predators like sharks and greater amberjack (Seriola dumerili). It feeds on fishes, benthic crustaceans and octopuses.
The scamp grouper has a body that is elongate, robust and compressed with its depth being the same at the origin of the dorsal fin as it is at the origin of the anal fin. The standard length is 3.0 to 3.4 times the body's depth. The body is deep tan or chocolate brown in color and there are numerous darker markings that form dots, lines or groupings of lines The preopercle is angular, with an obvious bony lobe at its serrated angle. The dorsal fin contains 11 spines and 16-18 soft rays while the anal fin contains 3 spines and 10-12 soft rays. The membranes between the dorsal fin spines are incised. The caudal fin is concave. Four phases of colour and pattern have been described. One has the head and body pale brown in background colour but the body is almost entirely covered in small dark red-brown spots, one on each scale, these frequently form clusters shaped like the paw-prints and these form saddle-like blotches along the back and elongate blotches on the flanks. These spots extend onto the dorsal and anal fins while the pectoral fin has a dark inner margin and a whitish outer margin. The caudal fin is dark with a pale margin. A second phase is pale brown, and its upper body has clusters of dark brown spots that look like cat’s paws. The third phase has large adults which have a silvery grey head and front of the body with dark reticulations and the posterior two-thirds of the body are dark. This phase has a few white spots on the abdomen, at the base of the caudal fin and above the anal fin. It also has black margins on the pectoral fins and a pale edged dark tail. The fourth colour phase is bicolored, pale brown anteriorly, changing abruptly to dark from the soft rayed part of the dorsal fin. Juveniles do not have a bicolored phase. This species attains a total length of 107 centimetres (42 in), although they are more commonly around 30 centimetres (12 in), and a maximum published weight of 14.2 kilograms (31 lb).
Scamp Fishing
| World Record: | 14.51 kg (32 lb 0 oz) Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, USA 02-Jun-2016 |
| # Fish Caught: | 35070 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | 9/8/1900 12:00:00 AM and located at 41.36441, -70.49543. |
| Latest Record: | 7/4/2024 12:41:39 PM and located at 27.26650, -82.52821. |
| Common Techniques: | Bottom Fishing, Jigging |
| Popular Lure Types: | Bottom Rig, Jigs |
| Fishing Spots: | 8159 Scamp fishing spots. |
Latest Scamp Fishing Reports and Spots
The Gulf of Mexico really came to life this week! Offshore reports are stacked with wahoo big red snapper at about 200′ scamp and yellowtails a (
View)
The gulf has really come to life these past few weeks. Wahoo have been reported roughly 200′ of water. Mutton snappers from the 120′ range have (
View)
Triggerfish Scamp Black Snapper Vermilion Snapper Amberines Almaco Jacks White Snapper Lane Snapper Black Snapper and Bonita The post What’s in (
View)
BlackFin Tuna Triggerfish Scamp Black Snapper Vermilion Snapper Amberines Almaco Jacks White Snapper Spanish Mackerel King Mackerel Lane Snappe (
View)
BlackFin Tuna Gag Grouper Triggerfish Scamp Black Snapper Vermilion Snapper Amberines Almaco Jacks White Snapper Spanish Mackerel King Mackerel (
View)
Gag Grouper Triggerfish Scamp Black Snapper Vermilion Snapper Amberines Almaco Jacks White Snapper Spanish Mackerel King Mackerel Lane Snapper (
View)
Greater Amberjack Triggerfish Red Snapper Scamp Black Snapper Wahoo Vermilion Snapper Amberines Almaco Jacks White Snapper Spanish Mackerel Kin (
View)
Summertime fishing is certainly in full swing! Offshore reports are staying consistent with a fair amount of red snapper reported solid scamp m (
View)
These trips leave the dock at 10pm and it was setting up to a beautiful voyage. The weather was wonderful. We had close to a full moon and only (
View)
Red Snapper Scamp Black Snapper Wahoo Vermilion Snapper Amberines Almaco Jacks White Snapper Spanish Mackerel King Mackerel Lane Snapper Black (
View)