If youre using a spinning rod and reel, we recommend a 6 to 14 pound monofilament or fluorocarbon line. When using live shrimp, you want to use the smallest ones you can find. If you opt for a fly rod you will want to use an 8 to 9 weight fast action rod. Then, poke holes in the bottom of the upper container so that any urine from the fleas can flow through the holes and away from the crabs. If you memorize just a few of these, you should be able to tell them apart. The fish wait for sand fleas, also called mole crabs, and other small crustaceans to be washed off the beach and carried to them by the wave action. That is what makes pompano fishing so much fun. For more tips, including how to keep your bait from returning to shore with the waves, read on! I happen to have a great article on that here: he lure of the pomp doesnt end with their taste, as. In other words, the quick answer is that it depends upon the conditions. I prefer to hand tie my own so I can pick exactly what hooks, line, beads, and floats I want. Early in the morning, or late in the evening, just toss your baits in the first trough off the beach. No worries, either buy 2 piece rods, or you can even use short rods. These can work very well for pompano. Before this i lived like 1 block from the beach so it was hard to get used to. A 2500-4000 sized reel with 10-20 pound mono, Collection of pyramid sinkers varying in size, Tackle bag or bucket to hold your terminal tackle, These items are in addition to the "light" list, Extra fresh water to rinse any accidentally dunked reels, Scissors for cutting braid or baits (Fishbites). Look for areas with deeper sections than surrounding areas. Go Australia! Agree , I no longer throw 12 mullet w 8 oz weight with a 12 rod in Texas . We recommend circle hooks for fishing pompano. If you dont wish to tie your own, these Sea Strike 2 hook rigs on amazon look pretty good, A 2 hook rig serves several purposes. That makes a lot of sense right? If the water further out from the beach looks cleaner that the water closer, then you should try the clean water first. The way the line lays on the reel also affects distance. Look for relatively clean water conditions when you are trying to figure out how far out to cast to catch pompano. Simply find a nice section of beach, and locate the best area (discussed below) along that stretch, and you should be in business when the pompano are running. They may also be in grass flats hunting crabs when the tide is high.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'riversearch_com-leader-2','ezslot_7',159,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-riversearch_com-leader-2-0'); Pompano in spring are easier to catch in northern parts of Florida than in southern parts. Go back at a higher tide and fish those areas. Sure, you can catch a pompano in 64 degree water or 81 degree water but it will be hard to catch large numbers of them in water that is uncomfortable to them. If you dont wish to tie your own, these Sea Strike 2 hook rigs on amazon look pretty good Sea Strike PPR20 2-Hook Pompano Rig. Sand spikes are a must if you're fishing multiple rods. Baitcasting rods and reels take a little more mastery to use but are ideal when you want to cast further distances. You really have two ends of a spectrum when it comes to surf fishing gear a minimalist approach, or one that leans more towards a commercial fisherman. Some times they might stay on the same stretch of beach for a few days before they leave for somewhere else. You can dump small chunks of baitfish, or scrape barnacles and mussels to chum the water and get the pompano riled up. Pompano can have dark or yellow-colored fins and may have black markings down the side of their bodies. One of the greatest things about pompano is that they can be found running fairly close to the beach, and within easy casting range. If you plan to target pompano on your vacation, it can be a real pain to try to pack long rods into a small car. Here's a quick rundown of the styles of fishing you opt for. Pompano is a popular fish you can catch off the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts. An offshore wind helps put offshore spots within range, especially with lures and baits that dont cast very welllike metal lips or eels. Lets say that you are fishing 3 different rods. Now that you have a terrific article on long casting reels what about rods? AND it makes it harder for them to find your pompano bait and lure offering as well. Look for the fish on the down current side of the bridge. I would break that apart into 3 separate fishing zones. When fishing with multiple rods, I always use pyramid or sputnik weights to anchor my baits in place. Ill break down all aspects of when, where and how to catch them so you can taste success when targeting Florida Pompano. A lighter setup is much more fun when you hook up. Darters such as the Super Strike Zig-Zag, though not built for distance like bottle plugs, can reach offshore bass as well, and these plugs will work in moderate to slow currents. Below is the sandflea rake that I have, which I purchased from Amazon. That's far enough to make your legs feel like jelly, but nowhere near the thousands of . Those are really nice, but they are also REALLY expensive. If there is a large colony around, there will be an obvious discoloration in the sand as the waves roll back over them. A couple of nor'easters will send the fish further south past Playa Linda and around Cape Canaveral. One of the best sources of surf fishing reports and tips is the Florida Surf Casters Club. This article has been viewed 136,722 times. This can be the ideal season to fish the surf for pompano. The possibilities are endless. Trying to overpower your cast isnt going to send your lure 100 yards into the surf. In second place, Joel Parkinson stands with 34,6 km/h. Pompano will stay put if there are no predators around them and plenty of food for them to eat. You have to find fish that are interested in eating or you will end up with a very poor fishing day. 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. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. You can even tip them with dead bait to make them even more effective. Nice article Jimmy. Welcome to Surfside Resort, a nice option for travelers like you. | Contact Us. Step 1: Pull out about 5 feet of line. These are the ones, available from Amazon, that I use most often:Fishbites Strips in Sandflea (15 Ct). Pack a surf rod or three and check out these surf fishing tips if you're headed to the beach along Florida's Atlantic Coast and want to learn how to catch pompano. A fish of this size will be approximately one year old, and weigh right around 1 pound. I like to look at the beach as a series of zones. . The lifespan is commonly only 3 to 4 years. They are made with circle hooks, which is my preference. I like to look at the beach as a series of zones. Pompano have relatively small mouths so you will want your pompano rig to have 1/0 or 2/0 hooks on it but not bigger. larger than expected. They can be found during moving tides letting the current bring small crabs and shrimp to them.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'riversearch_com-leader-3','ezslot_8',163,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-riversearch_com-leader-3-0'); You can use a variety of kinds of fishing rods to catch pompano depending on the situation. Tying your own gives you great flexibility in choosing your own hook size, bead color and whether to use floats or not. Some anglers also like to use fly rods for fishing pompano. I honestly would recommend that you break down and invest in a sand flea rake. Other times, Ill rake up my entire supply for the day and store them in a container near my setup. If youre fishing the gulf for summer pompano you can usually find them in deeper channels of estuaries. First, your reminder Wind from the West, fish bite the best Wind from the East, fish bite the least Wind from the North, do not go forth Wind from the South blows bait in their mouth Now take a. Having a beach cart opens up the opportunity to take a cooler to the beach. ( only took 40yrs to figure that out), casting 40 lb Power Pro braid with a 11 St.Croix Mojo Rod with virtually any Super Strike plug whether needle or bottle plug makes the lure fly through the air like a small rocket ship. Bring one light spinning rod rigged with a pompano jig in case the fish are right in the trough just a few yards off the beach. To immediately improve casting distance with every lure, rod and reel you use, downsize your line. With full written report (updated twice daily) and 16-day surf . You can expect a hooked pompano to make a parallel run along the beach once you get him near the surf line. For surf smelt fishing along San Mateo County beaches, try cast or "throw" nets in the 6- to 8-ft range, with 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of lead per foot and 3/8-in webbing. Required fields are marked *. We recommend an 8-to-10 foot fast action casting rod. Hope you enjoyed these Florida surf fishing tips! Please feel free to contact us with any questions that you have. When it comes down to it, any rod will work fine for catching pompano. If you found this article helpful, please share it on your social media accounts. Simply find a nice section of beach, and locate the best area (discussed below) along that stretch, and you should be in business when the pompano are running. A 2 hook rig serves several purposes. With practice, you can spot them before you even bother to scoop. Choosing lures to reach far-off stripers is a little easier in the daylight. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Avoid trying to set the hook. Use sand fleas for bait on the end of a spinning rod with a circle hook. Place some rags in a bucket and just cover the crabs with seawater. Be careful not to bust out the shell when working your hook through. It is found on the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts, and in the West Indies. You can typically scoop sand fleas with your hands to use as bait. You can also fish rip currents where pompano might be lurking feeding on small fish that are being swept away. Rather than tossing that little fish back, Ill put it on a hook and throw it back out on my larger rod. Look at the fishfinder! one of them said. I honestly would recommend that you break down and invest in a sand flea rake. Ill provide a list for each so that you can cobble together your own list. Shimanos Ultegra XTD, part of their Long Cast Surf System, lays line perfectly flat on the spool by using super slow oscillation. Intro How far out do you have to cast to catch pompano surf fishing? Sand fleas also known as mole crabs are known as one of the best baits you can use. You can usually catch your own, or you can buy them at a bait shop. Last Updated: August 18, 2020 Cleanliness 4.7. A longer rod and adequate reel capacity is the only way you can get the distance sometimes needed. On calmer days you can use a lighter fishing line, however, when fishing a rough surf you will need a heavier line. Sign up for our FREE Fishing Reports Today! They also tend to stay on the hook in rough waves, which makes it great for fishing the surf. I like to fish the higher parts of the tide for just about everything. If we didnt hook up in the first few cranks, the rest of the retrieve was over dead water. While the Northeast's most heralded pelagic, the false albacore, arrives in September, recent seasons have provided earlier opportunities for anglers to target "hard tails" like . You need to find a beach with some life on it or you might be in for a bad day of fishing. wikiHow is a wiki, similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. But, even the cheapest rakes are much better than non-rake alternatives. Learn how to catch more fish off of the beach. Just because the fish are far off the beach, doesnt mean they are in deep water. Rigging for pompano and other species such as whiting that occur in the surf isn't difficult. Try to figure out what the fish are eating and use that as bait. Pompano like clean water. I just got word that surf fishermen on Amelia Island are intercepting the first of the fall pompano run. You will want to test out your stretch of beach for 15 or 20 minutes and then move if you dont get any bites. And, those work just fine. Another option, which I have used before, is to take 2 plastic containers that nest together. If you can't find any sand fleas, it's likely that you won't catch any pompano. You can also find them deeper inshore in estuaries and lagoons. Kick your legs in an egg beater motion to turn the board around toward the shore. Like most things, there is a sweet spot that offers the best conditions. It is common that pompano rigs are tied using colored floats and beads, most commonly orange. Less water means that some of the bigger fish cant get too close to the beach. You can even tip your jigs with small chunks of whatever the fish are feeding on in the waters you are fishing. Subscribe to get one NEW fishing article every week. The tide is very important for beach fishing because more water allows more fish to come close to the beach. The water was shallow and the current was slow, making it the perfect place to fish 1- to 1 -ounce bucktails. in case you happen to run across a permit in the surf. On average most pompano that are caught weigh less than 3 lbs and are less than 17 inches long. By using our site, you agree to our. This puts them in easy reach of anglers who prefer to fish from the beach or a pier. Some of the other alternatives are, scooping them with cheap metal collanders, toy plastic shovels, or buckets with holes drilled in the bottom. The fish took a long time to subdue, but Dave eventually steered it into the shallow water at his feet, all 42 pounds of it. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. I throw this extra rod out with a larger bait to target bigger fish, like bull reds. You will usually need to use between a 1-4 ounce pyramid sinker, so you should have a selection of weights in that range. Incoming tides, and the front of outgoing tides will typically be best. This will allow you to use the larger flies you need while giving you plenty of hook setting power for a tough pompano bite. Casting to Spanish mackerel from shore is an exciting way to catch these strong, fast, toothy and tasty migratory specimens. It might be a great blue heron or a snowy egret standing on the beach. If you decide to do so, I would not necessarily use pyramid weights as my first sinker option. Fish will move until they find suitable water temperatures. You will have to make your own call as to the preference of your rod(s). I typically go with a 1 ounce pyramid weight when possible. Florida - 8 lbs 4 oz (***click this link to read about a potential world record pompano caught with Fishbites***). These are the 3 baits Ill focus on below. Rod length also influences distance, with longer rods generally casting fartheralthough Ill argue that rod action is more important to casting distance than length. I always stash a few bottle plugs in the bag as well, provided Im fishing somewhere with enough current to make them effective. Your best bet is to try multiple placements and see what gets the strikes. You can also target them by fishing inshore. The place is home to 72 miles of shorelines, beyond which the Atlantic Ocean lies in wait. If you want more info about other bait options for pompano, you can refer to my article here: Best Baits For Pompano. Long-distance casting stubby needlefish like the Super Strike Bullet merit extra consideration when targeting far-out fish. If the weather is warm, and Im wearing swim trunks, I might simply make a scoop with my rake, and place a handful in the pocket of my swim trunks. The YouTube video below is the best one I have found that shows you how to catch sand fleas. As with a golf swing, technique trumps strength. Discover our surfboard size chart. You want real distance with little effort? If you have multiple rods, you will want to experiment to see what colors might work better on a particular day. This is the style I have used in the past, and its what I see most people using. When it comes down to it, any rod will work fine for catching pompano. My casts with eels, metal lips and light bucktail jigs fell considerably short of 200 feet, and as I prepared to leave, a boat motored up, lights off, and began drifting just off the channel edge. I compensated by retrieving faster to keep the heavier jig off the bottom, but the bass werent interested in that. Dusty Hayes and I go looking for pompano and whiting after Hurricane Nate! Surf beginners should hit the water with a . I prefer to use 2-hook pompano (high-low) rigs similar to my image below. One bait I always take with me to the beach is Fishbites. on the Treasure Coast of Florida. However, if you do this with pompano, you will jerk the bait out of the fish's mouth, and the fish will escape. Let's say that the sand bar is 60 yards from the beach. 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. A bag full of pyramid sinkers of varying weights will keep in you in the game no matter how rough or calm it is. Free use of tennis court and hot tub. The best beach carts are those that come with the really big gray balloon tires. You can encounter pompano on the beach, off of ocean-facing piers and even inshore. 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. [1] 2 Step 4: Tie the first dropper loop about 10 inches above the sinker. You have to test out the stretch of beach where you are fishing to find out where the feeding fish will be. Not only do theyincrease your odds by having more baits in the water at the same time, they also help you to more quickly dial into what the fish prefer on a given day. 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. The best leaders for pompano are 2 hook pompano rigs. Its often said that they are even more powerful than a jack crevalle of the same size. There are other baits that will work great as well, but if you are able to obtain live sand fleas on a given day, thats what you should use. They are one of the best tasting fish in the sea, and their price at the fish market reflects it. Thats a tell tale sign that you have a pompano on the end of your line. damn lou..all 3?? These are the pink shrimp flavor Fishbites I like to have, in addition to the orange sand flea ones. I sat for a while, casting occasionally, but mostly listening to the boat fishermen catch what sounded like very big stripers. Pompano will be on one side of the bridge when the tide comes in and the other side when the tide goes out, so you will have to move your boat if the tide changes. I moved to north texas permenatley at the end of the summer so now i live 5 hours from the coast. % of people told us that this article helped them. Other very productive baits are small shrimp, and Fishbites. The second zone for me would be 20 to 40 yards out and the last zone would be 40 to 60 yards out. Look for pompano from a boat in open water; you can find a school by watching for fish skipping in the prop wash. Continue fishing if you catch a pompano. But if you are going after much larger fish with big pieces of cut bait, you can go all the way up . There might be a lot of food around. When it comes to rods, Im usually torn about the issue. Look for bridges and piers over deep channels. I like to look at it the ocean as a grid. Assuming you arent allowed to access the beach with your vehicle, which is the case for many of us, a beach cart is a tremendous luxury. They are known to be one of the best-tasting fish, they arent very difficult to catch, but they still put up a good fight, which makes it enjoyable to fish them.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[250,250],'riversearch_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',155,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-riversearch_com-medrectangle-3-0'); If youre fishing for pompano you need to read this guide. It all depends upon the tide levels when determining how far out to cast to catch pompano in the surf. One of the best sources of surf fishing reports and tips is the Florida Surf Casters Club. Pompano travel in schools, so catching 1 fish indicates a school is nearby. Fiddler crabs will pinch you when you pick them up. Any bigger and you will miss most of the bites and lose your baits. Also, while targeting pompano, there is a great likelihood that you will catch other desirable species such as whiting (kingfish) and redfish. Since I typically only use circle hooks, I dont set the hook. That is certainly saying something! Pompano are in schools so once you find one, you will probably find a lot more. 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. One spring night, my friend Dave and I were casting to a current seam far off the beach where a school of bass had set up to feed. Florida Pompano are primarily a bottom feeding fish, mainly feasting on crustaceans. The extra strip of pork slowed the bucktails descent just enough for it to hover in front of the big bass during Daves unhurried retrieve. Soon thereafter by November the proverbial coconut telegraph will ring with the news that the fish are in around Sebastian, Vero Beach and Fort Pierce. Thats when your long rod and heavy pyramid sinker come into play. For these reasons, I prefer to tie my own pompano rigs. I have fished the beaches, mangroves, grass flats.. all over Florida for more than 40 years.