From now until the middle of December, the pompano that made the run north in the spring are now headed south and they come right down our coast.
Here is a combination of a supreme food fish and a fine fighter. His color is bluish above and slightly golden below. Average size is one pound and the largest is about eight pounds. His shape and general appearance might lead an angler to believe he has hooked a small Jack Crevalle, but if there is no black spot on the gill cover, it's a Pompano.
There are three successful methods of fishing for Pompano. He may be caught in the surf, where he feeds on shellfish; he may be caught with bait-casting rigs, and by still fishing. It frequents waters of the ocean close to shore, especially in sloughs where sand fleas and other crustacean are present, also in cuts and inlets. The fight of this fish is remarkable. He will strike on small plugs, sometimes shrimp, and frequently on hooks baited with sand fleas. He rushes with amazing speed, and when taken with a light outfit is worthy of the best angler's skill.
Let's start with baits that work for Pompano. Clams; you can purchase these at most seafood markets. Shrimp; live ones wok better than dead ones. Sand Fleas; You have to catch these. You are going to need a sand flea rake and a bucket. Sand fleas are on the beach just at the waters edge. Take your rake and scoop up the sand as the wave is going back out. To do this you need and outgoing tide, this seems to be the best tide for getting fleas. You take your sand flea rake and drag it in the sand, in about 12 inches of water, just as the waves move back out to sea on the beach. If you were in the correct place and there were any fleas there, you should have a few in the bottom of the rake. This might take some practice, so I would suggest that you take your rake and a five gallon bucket and go to the beach and practice before you have a full blown day of trying to pompano fish, without fleas.
Your rod and reel outfits should be ones that will allow you to cast about 50 yards (1/2 the length of a football field). Walk down to the surf and cast it as far as you can straight out, then place it in your rod holder. Your cast will usually need to be about 70 to 100 yards long so you might have to practice a few times before you get this down. Most of us are not used to throwing a piece of lead the weighs so much and throwing it so far . Outgoing is a preferred tide of the surf especially for bottom feeders who lay in wait for trapped food offerings to be dislodged by the outgoing tide. Current carries a cloud of sand created by the breaker action and food is swept along with it. Pompano make use of these conditions when searching for food. Pompano school tightly and once the school is located and attracted, it's best to keep your cast concentrated in the attracted area. Allow your bait to stay in the location where it's cast until the fish come to it. Fresh shrimp has a good scent trail that fish home in on, so it doesn't take long to find the fish using this particular kind of bait
When a pompano eats your bait and is hooked up, there will be "NO DOUBT" that you have a fish on. Your rod tips will be bouncing and bending. Some of these fish put up quite a fight and you might have to walk them down the beach before landing him.
You will also catch whiting, reds and many other things while fishing for pompano.
You can keep 6 of these per person and they have to be between 11 and 20 inches at the fork.
Go ahead and purchase three outfits, as you can fish three rods in Florida and the more baits that are in the water the better your chances are of catching fish. Send your comments to the AcademicAngler at Charlierobertsjr@yahoo.com
