Standardized trap and hook-and-line collections were made annually at four areas of reef habitat off South Carolina during 1983–1987 for red porgyPagrus pagrusand vermilion snapperRhomboplites aurorubens. We calculated mean annual values for catch per unit effort, estimated mean individual weights, and derived percentages of fish that were smaller than previously recommended yield-per-recruit critical lengths based on data from the two gear types. Although the two gear types did not generate identical results, there are indications that stocks of these reef fishes are overfished. The ratio of vermilion snapper to red porgy in hook-and-line samples increased during the study and in comparison to historical data, suggesting that abundance of red porgy declined more rapidly than that of vermilion snapper.