Pompano fishing and a catching report

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, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this tasty fish!

Catching report

The bite is starting to pick up with the cooling water temps. Should only get better over the next few weeks, Flounder fishing has been real good lately especially near the creek mouths and near the inlets on the last of the falling tide. There have been some reports of some nice specks being caught up on the northern part of the island. Puppy drum continue to bite in the creeks and waterway.

In the surf some nice pompano are being caught as well as an occasional drum and a few specks. The Grey trout are chewing on the ledges and hard bottoms just outside the inlets. Spanish fishing should continue to be great for the next few weeks until the water cools into the low 70’s. The piers have reported nice catches of spots and mullet especially after dark. They also are seeing some nice Pompano caught.

The near shore king mackerel bite recently returned to the near shore waters with several nice ones being caught on the island’s three piers as well as boats trolling in the 1-3 miles range. The gag groupers have moved close to shore and can be found in the 12+ mile range.

Fall is in the air! I hope you catch ’em up.