littlehead porgy
Calamus proridens · Sparidae · predator
Porgy of sponge and coral bottoms in the Gulf of Mexico and Cuba, sought after in sport fishing.
Also called: peixe-pena-corcunda, pluma jorobada, pez de pluma rayado, littlehead porgy
- maximum
- 46 cm
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the littlehead porgy
who is the littlehead porgy
The hunchback porgy belongs to the family Sparidae and reaches 46 cm. It lives on reefs and on sponge and coral bottoms, down to 59 m, from northeastern Florida to the Bay of Campeche, Mexico. In Latin America it occurs in Cuba and Mexico. It reaches sexual maturity between 17 and 22 cm and feeds mainly on invertebrates. In Cuba it is called pez de pluma rayado, and in Mexico, pluma jorobada. It is commercially fished and sought after by sport fishing.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the littlehead porgy; in the meantime, see the similar species.
identification
Porgy with a compressed body and a spiny dorsal fin, typical of the genus Calamus. Habitat is the main trait for recognizing it: it lives over sponge and coral bottoms, which separates it from the Gulf porgy, which lives on sand and mud bottoms, and from the knobby porgy, which stays on hard bottoms. All three belong to the same genus and occur in Mexico.
where found
In Latin America it occurs in Cuba and Mexico, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Bay of Campeche.
Habitat: Sponge and coral bottoms, from reefs down to 59 m.
rules for the littlehead porgy
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Not dangerous to anglers. Since it is a bottom fish, release it carefully to avoid barotrauma in fish brought up from deep water.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.01288, b = 2.83; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Calamus proridens (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Calamus proridensNames by country and language.
similar species
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: