To this point, knock on wood, I have caught bull reds and sharks, and they never pulled my lightweight sand spikes out of the sand. First, 40-50 lbs?! The YouTube video below is the best one I have found that shows you how to catch sand fleas. This should give you plenty of power to cast far enough to reach pompano. If you find an area with a lot of fiddler crabs or sand fleas, you can be sure hungry pompano are close by. Pompano are a migrating fish that moves with the changing water temps. All Rights Reserved. There might be a lot of food around. These lures, dressed up with feathered tail hooks, can have a wiggling, pulsing action that rivals soft plastics or bucktails, giving you the fish-attracting moves of those lures and the distance-casting benefits of a needlefish. If you do start getting bites then move your other two baits into that zone. This will happen quicker than you might imagine. For more tips, including how to keep your bait from returning to shore with the waves, read on! Slow down and let the rod do the work, and youll see a marked increase in casting distance. Some of them have colorful skirts, others are designed to imitate shrimp and other foods that pompano eat. If you were to just throw them into a bucket of water, the accumulation of their urine, over the course of time, will kill them. This will help you cover ground more quickly and find where the fish are holding. Learn more in ourCookie Noticeand ourPrivacy Policy. Note: Record weights may have changed from the numbers posted below, and in fact there seemed to be discrepancies about the largest recorded pompano. Unless sand eels are present, I prefer wide-bodied metal lures, like a Point Jude Nautilus, Hopkins No=Eql or Acme Kastmaster that ride high in the water column and have good action. All of the pier-house staffs offer expert advice on what's biting and how to catch it. You will have to make your own call as to the preference of your rod(s). Learn how to catch more fish off of the beach. Last Updated: August 18, 2020 This should give you plenty of power to cast far enough to reach pompano. Florida Pompano are primarily a bottom feeding fish, mainly feasting on crustaceans. If the current is moving your offering along too fast, I would change back to the tried and true pyramid weight. We recommend an 8-to-10 foot fast action casting rod. I have fished the beaches, mangroves, grass flats.. all over Florida for more than 40 years. I prefer to use 2-hook pompano (high-low) rigs similar to my image below. I can reach that, I thought, while eyeing the charts legend and estimating the distance. 710 South Ocean Boulevard, Pompano Beach, FL 33062, United States of America - Excellent location - show map. The name, Florida Pompano, is deceiving as this fish ranges quite a distance beyond the state of Florida. In the springtime, pompano are ready to head north for the summer. If youve never eaten pompano, youve done yourself a disservice. If youre fishing the gulf for summer pompano you can usually find them in deeper channels of estuaries. Those are really nice, but they are also REALLY expensive. When I first hit a beach that I want to fish off of I will look around for life of some sort. Before you can catch pompano, you first have to find them. (1 to 1.4 kg) when fully grown. Its not known why they do this. Beach chair, bucket and cooler. You may also go to your bait shop and pick up clams and mussels to use as bait. Look for areas with deeper sections than surrounding areas. Lets say that the sand bar is 60 yards from the beach. 8.8. So, I prefer a 2nd small soft sided cooler for that. Pompano might be honed in on a different color for the day. One of the best sources of surf fishing reports and tips is the Florida Surf Casters Club. The best beach carts are those that come with the really big gray balloon tires. These over-sized tires work especially well on the Florida panhandle, and anywhere the sand is very soft. Its actually a 3 part series thats well worth your time if you are lacking skills in this area. How to Tie A Pompano Rig For Surf Fishing (Catches Pompano, Whiting, Black Drum & More) Salt Strong 106K views 2 years ago The BEST Way to Limit Out on Pompano Surf Fishing Bama Beach Bum. Here we will cover a little bit about pompano, where to fish for them, their seasonal patterns, the equipment you will need to catch them, and a few tips to help you catch more pompano.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'riversearch_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_4',156,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-riversearch_com-medrectangle-4-0'); Pompano are members of the Carangidae or jack family of fish. If you memorize just a few of these, you should be able to tell them apart. By that time you may have missed the bite, or crabs could have stolen your bait, so its time to reel in and check the situation. If you go this route, you do have to take care so that you dont kill your hoard of fleas. They regulate their body temperatures by using the external environment. If youre going to target pompano, you might as well learn about whiting. Avalon Fishing Pier, Kill Devil Hills, (252) 441-7494. During the right time of year, they are easy to catch and they taste great. Related Posts:Snook Fishing TipsSheepshead Fishing TipsHow to Catch Bluefish, How to Catch Speckled Trout Fishing Tips. Sometimes you that to cast out far and sometimes you could use a cane pole to catch pompano at your feet. . When sand eels move in, especially during the fall, slimmer metals like the A.O.K. Just try to make sure your hook matches the size or your bait as best you can. Flies are another great choice. 9 w mullet head and 4 oz weight is fine for bull reds . legal information contact me privacy policy. For this reason, my nighttime plug bag is heavy on needlefish when I need distance to reach the stripers. Go back at a higher tide and fish those areas. You want to have some wave action because that stirs up the sand and uncovers crabs, sand fleas, small clams and other creatures that the pompano like to feed upon. Your best bet is to try multiple placements and see what gets the strikes. I rarely stress over casting distance when surfcasting. I try to minimize weight anywhere possible in my beach loadout. Rather than forcing the fish through the breaking waves, time your retrieve to let a rolling wave surf the hooked pompano onto the sand. Instead, you should store them in 2 or 3 of damp sand, which will actually keep them alive for several days, if they dont get too hot. Thats a really good size for pompano, and they are big enough to handle any large bonus fish you might run into, such as bull reds or black drum. Finding an abundance of bait oftentimes means that you have found the fish. It looks like we'll have a big run this year. Even in locations like the Cape Cod Canal where big fish frequently break water 100-plus yards off the bank, many bassmany very large bassare caught just a short lob cast off the rocks. If youre fishing the surf in fall, wind and giant waves can push the pompano either close to shore or far offshore. If the water is really rough, it might not even be worth trying for pompano, since they might move further out to clearer water and out of reach. No worries, either buy 2 piece rods, or you can even use short rods. Experimenting with long-casting lures could help you strike gold. Lets talk about those fishing zones again. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. These jigs come in various styles and colors. Using live bait is often your best bait. Wear in Nova Scotia do you fish for stripers. By using our site, you agree to our. They might be hot and heavy on your beach one day and the next day that school might be 10 miles North or South of you for some reason. Agree , I no longer throw 12 mullet w 8 oz weight with a 12 rod in Texas . It is harder to cast a 14 foot surf fishing rod than a 10 foot surf fishing rod. These are the 3 baits Ill focus on below. Most of the time,sand fleas are unquestionably the best bait for pompano. Its best when the surf is slightly active and stirring up the crustaceans on the bottom. Your line should be 10-20 pound mono, flourocarbon or 20-30 pound braid. You would want the bait on one rod to be in zone 1. Instead, go to the bait shop and ask for fresh dead shrimp, or buy some from a local supermarket. Jennette's Pier, Nags Head, (252) 255-1501. Water temps are the name of the game and will dictate where you find pompano. Try to cut the squid into pieces about an inch long. A good tactic for locating good fishing spots is to go to the beach during low tide and search out deeper (darker) areas. Fish will move until they find suitable water temperatures. Fish are cold blooded just like a lizard, snake or turtle. I typically go with a 1 ounce pyramid weight when possible. othing is more efficient and easier to use than a proper rake. When it comes down to it, any rod will work fine for catching pompano. For best results, look for areas that are deeper than the surrounding water. The fish is about 18 inches (45 cm) long and weighs about 2 to 3 lb. Some anglers also like to use fly rods for fishing pompano. Subscribe to get one NEW fishing article every week. You can just stick a pack in your tackle bag, for use when you either run out of bait, or you cant find sand fleas. These are the ones, available from Amazon, that I use most often:Fishbites Strips in Sandflea (15 Ct). Early in the morning, or late in the evening, just toss your baits in the first trough off the beach. From charter fishing and renting a kayak, to surf fishing and hitting up the piers and docks, there's something for every type of angler. Its often said that they are even more powerful than a jack crevalle of the same size. I am 5 feet and 9 inches tall and my 10 foot surf rod is perfect for me. You will have to do some experimenting to figure out where the feeding fish are. The loop should be about 3-4 long. When the tide is high you can bring you 7 ft. rod and catch tons of pompano, whiting, snook, tarpon, bluefish, permit.. within 30 yards of the beach usually. I would really appreciate it. Many anglers swear by bucktail jigs for fishing pompano in the surf. Their coloration varies between fish, with some being more yellowish on the undersides than others. Whether the bass have hunkered down on a piece of offshore structure or they are chasing around a school of baitfish, knowing how to add some yards to your cast can save your day in the surf. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning when you click the links and make a purchase, we receive a commission. You just never really know what they are going to do next. Hope you enjoyed these Florida surf fishing tips! Fast-action rods that recover quickly after the cast tend to throw farther than slow-action rods. Like most things, there is a sweet spot that offers the best conditions. Before this i lived like 1 block from the beach so it was hard to get used to. You just never know really. When you find an area with a lot of sand fleas running around, there are sure to be hungry pompano feeding not far behind. This article has been viewed 136,722 times. Every rod has a sweet spot, a weight that it casts best. There is a great YouTube resource, inserted below, that will teach you how to read the surf . As long as the current isnt too strong, I might use some other style of sinker (bank sinker) that allowed my bait to slowly move along the bottom. Small, live shrimp would be better, but Im not usually up to the task of carrying a bucket of water and keeping them alive. Thats a tell tale sign that you have a pompano on the end of your line. Then one day I saw on social media one them them holding a big striped bass. in case you happen to run across a permit in the surf. These rod holders stick into the sand and free your hands to fight fish rig and re-cast lines. Some times they might stay on the same stretch of beach for a few days before they leave for somewhere else. Additionally, if the stretch of beach has an abundance of sand fleas, then thats obviously a good sign that you are in the right place. And, those work just fine. It doesnt make a lot of sense to fish somewhere that has no fish. That is why I chose this one over the larger size. Get a rake. Ill provide a list for each so that you can cobble together your own list. #beach #waves #padreislandnationalseashore #padreisland #northpadreisland #nps #usinterior #corpuschristi #southtexas #gulfcoast pic.twitter.com/94MCJkpp1A. I solely fish with 12 foot surf fishing rods paired with 4 ounce. larger than expected. BUT once you find the feeding fish stay put. These folks are more than happy to share tips and tactics. Depending on the geometry and bend of the rod, you are feeling 3-5 times the weight back at the handle. If the water has too much freshwater runoff, then it will have brown hues to it. Cast out into smaller two to three-foot waves where pompano may be roaming. They are one of the best tasting fish in the sea, and their price at the fish market reflects it. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/6\/65\/Catch-Pompano-Step-1.jpg\/v4-460px-Catch-Pompano-Step-1.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/6\/65\/Catch-Pompano-Step-1.jpg\/aid1422870-v4-728px-Catch-Pompano-Step-1.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"