Topsail Angler column - Sept. 4, 2006

It’s one of the best tasting fish in this neck of woods, but you won’t find it at the grocery store. It’s not on the menu at any of our local restaurants. Don’t look for it at the fish markets. If you could find it, you would pay a small fortune for it.

The fish I speak of -- Florida pompano.

This prized fish is caught only on hook and line, and while they run in schools, they are not caught commercially in large numbers. An occasional pompano can be caught in the summer here any time the water temperature is above 70 degrees. However, they show up in the biggest numbers in September when the northern waters begin to cool down, and they head south to their winter home off the coast of Florida.

An average pompano weighs about a pound, with some of the bigger ones reaching more than two pounds. They feast on small crabs and shrimp, and the sand flea (sand mole crab) is their favorite meal.

They can be caught in the surf or from the pier. Anglers catch them in the shallow water right at the base of the breakers where they hang out waiting for the sand fleas to be washed out in the surf.

To catch them, most anglers use a surf rod with a two- or three-hook bottom rig. Get a small shovel and dig up some sand fleas in the shallow water on the beach. Some folks use rat wire (hardware cloth) to sift them out, but running your hand through the loosened sand works just as well.

I like to use a #2 or #4 khale hook to hold the sand flea and about a 3 ounce sinker to hold the bottom. Cast the rig out just past the breaking waves and hold on. Believe it or not, they put up a great fight for a small fish, especially if you hook up with two at once.

Sometimes you can fill a small cooler on a single tide; at others you might only catch a mouthful. In either case, you’ll enjoy this tasty fish!

Catching report

While Ernesto made a mess out of the coastal water with all the floodwaters, fishing has recovered quickly. The bait fish are more plentiful than I can remember in years, so the predator fish are also here in big numbers. Fall fishing this year promises to be one of the best seasons in a long time.

Anglers are catching black drum, red drum, flounder and pompano on the beaches and piers. There are few Spanish and blues still hanging around near shore. In the marshes and ICW, drum, flounder and speckled trout are being caught; a few spots have starting to show up, but their numbers remain few.

Off shore, the king bite remains strong, but mostly small fish are being caught close in. Grouper have been caught as close in as 10 miles, and the grunts and black sea bass have also been biting.

Tight lines to all!