How to Catch a Pompano Fishing Florida (The Complete Guide)
The best way to catch a pompano is with a pompano rig and sand fleas. If you can't find any sand fleas then sand flea or clam flavored Fish Bites is a good second choice. The best way to catch pompano with lures is to bounce a pink or orange colored banana jig off of the sand on the beach.
When you start catching whiting and croakers then you know that the pompano are probably around too.
Fishermen love to catch pompano for a few basic reasons. Pompano are in the jack family which means that they don't go down without a very good fight.
They are also migratory. Pompano are only around in good numbers for about 6 months a year. This makes them a rare treat to catch when they are in town.
The last and biggest reason that fishermen love to catch pompano is because they are probably the most delicious fish in the sea. Of the thousands of fish that I have caught, legal pompanos always end up in the fish cooler without exception.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the beaches and the grass flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In this article, will teach you everything that I know about simple tips and techniques to improve your pompano fishing. Let's get started.
Watch the video below and learn how to catch more pompano.
The best way to catch a pompano is with a pompano rig and sand fleas. If you can't find any sand fleas then sand flea or clam flavored Fish Bites is a good second choice. The best way to catch pompano with lures is to bounce a pink or orange colored banana jig off of the sand on the beach.
When you start catching whiting and croakers then you know that the pompano are probably around too.
Fishermen love to catch pompano for a few basic reasons. Pompano are in the jack family which means that they don't go down without a very good fight.
They are also migratory. Pompano are only around in good numbers for about 6 months a year. This makes them a rare treat to catch when they are in town.
The last and biggest reason that fishermen love to catch pompano is because they are probably the most delicious fish in the sea. Of the thousands of fish that I have caught, legal pompanos always end up in the fish cooler without exception.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the beaches and the grass flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In this article, will teach you everything that I know about simple tips and techniques to improve your pompano fishing. Let's get started.
Watch the video below and learn how to catch more pompano.
Where to find a pompano fishing in Florida:
The best place to catch a pompano in Florida is off of the beach. The entire state of Florida has great beaches to catch pomps from. They range from the Panhandle to the tip of Florida and right back up the Atlantic coast to Jacksonville.
Another great place to catch pompano is around inlets mouths. They like the sand bars and sandy cuts that are often near the mouths of the inlets around Florida. Hungry pompano just want some good food. They will go anywhere the food is so don't just focus you pompano fishing efforts on the beach. I will cover inlet fishing later in the article.
Pompano are migratory and prefer a water temperature between about 62 degrees and 75 degrees. This helps you know when they will be in town in your area. If there are early cold fronts coming through Florida you can expect the pompano to show up earlier. If the cold fronts happen later in the year then you can expect them to show up later. It is all about the water temperature.
The opposite is also true. If the Winter in Florida is a mild one they will head north for cooler water earlier than normal. If we have an abnormally long and cold winter, they will stick around longer. The normal time frame to catch pompano in my area of the Treasure Coast is from November through late April.
From November to April in my area you will find lines of surf casting rods in rod holders down all of the beaches first thing in the morning. Some fishermen that I have seen will work up to 6 or 7 rods at a time trying to get some of these delicious fish into their coolers.
I created a FREE Online Surf Fishing Course that you can access right on this website. You can see the surf fishing course by clicking right here.
The tide plays a big factor in finding the distance the pompano are from the beach. During the higher tides you can catch pompano just a few feet from shore. During lower tides you will need to cast your baits out as far as you are able to or you will probably go home empty handed.
The video below shows you how to make your own pompano surf fishing rigs.
Near inlet mouths is another great place to find pompano to catch. They love to work the mouth of the inlet during the outgoing tides to find shrimp, crabs and small fish being washed out from the flats. They will also follow the incoming tides and run up onto the flats and forage the cuts between mud flats and sand bars.
The key to catching pompano in the inlets is getting your baits and lures to the bottom where they are foraging for food. You will have to get the baits down fast because ladyfish, jack crevalle, bluefish and many other species will hit the bait in the upper levels of the water column. You don't want that. You want some delicious pompanos.
Read this article that I wrote and learn the best baits and lures to maximize your pompano catch.
Most of the pompano fishing that I do is around spoil islands, sand bars, mud flats and grass flats in the Indian River Lagoon area. Pompano are quite numerous in and around the flats in the winter time feeding on the shrimp and crabs.
They like the deeper cuts between spoil islands and along the sand bars that are usually on both sides of the spoil islands that dot the intracoastal waterway. This is a great place to bounce your baits or lures on the bottom to find out where the schools are. These pompano are waiting for the current to funnel food to them in these channels.
Pompano are usually in decent sized schools. When you catch one you will probably catch a bunch more. The problem is finding them. I like to give a likely spot about 10 minutes and if I don't get a bite I'll move. Sometimes you will have to move to 7 or 8 different spots before you can find any pompano. That's what makes them so much fun. It's like a delicious Easter egg hunt.
Pompanos will come up onto the grass flats to forage for shrimp and crabs. A lot of the time I accidentally find them when I spook them in my jon boat. The have a peculiar habit of skipping on their sides when they get spooked.
This is great because it shows you that they are in the area. On really calm days you can see them tailing in shallow water as they sift through the sand for some sort of invertebrate.
Kayak fishing for pompanos is a blast. What you can do is find a launch spot near any inlet in Florida. The key is to find those inlets with lots of sand bars and large expanses of sand that the pompano can forage for crabs around.
This will work in any inlet in the state. Just find some good sandy spots on the incoming clean tide and keep moving until you find the schools of pompano. You will often spook them and they will jump out of the water letting you know where the school is.
I like to use a pompano rig with shrimp, sand fleas or scented baits like fish bites. You fish for them just like you would if you were fishing off of the beach. Banana jigs are another great choice when you are pompano fishing from a kayak.
Watch the video below and learn more about kayak fishing for pompano.
WANT TO CATCH POMPANO? BOOK YOUR FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
How to choose the best baits and lures for pompano fishing:
The undisputed champion of pompano baits is sand fleas (mole crabs). This is pompano caviar and it will outperform shrimp, clams and just about anything else 90% of the time. If you can't find sand fleas use shrimp or clam strips. The clam strips are great because they are so tough that you can catch multiple fish with the same bait over and over again.
The best pompano lures are brightly colored banana jigs. Orange and pink seem to work the best for me but yellow and light green will also work well. The key to effectively using jigs is to get them to the bottom and bounce them back to you. Visit the Pro Fishing Tips page to learn more about getting the right tackle to maximize your fishing fun.
Pompano also like a white scented shrimp imitation soft plastic on a 1/8 oz. red jig head. This is my go to bait when fishing for pompano on the grass flats. My favorite brand is Berkeley GULP shrimp. They will also hit a 3 inch white soft plastic shad with a paddle tail and an 1/8 oz. red jig head. My favorite brand is the DOA CAL 3 inch shad.
I have also caught pompano using small silver spoons. Some people think that pompano only eat invertebrates but they will also feed upon small bait fish like glass minnows, pilchards and sardines. I have been fishing for spotted sea trout on the grass flats with small pilchards and been pleasantly surprised when there was a pompano on my line instead of a trout.
See the video below to learn more about pompano jigs.
How to choose the best gear for pompano fishing:
If you are going to be fishing for pompano all day you will definitely need to protect your eyes and skin from the sun's harmful rays. Polarized sunglasses are a must for pompano fishing. A high end pair of sunglasses will run about $250 and a lower end pair will run you about $25 with glass lenses. You can find them with plastic lenses for about $5 at Walmart.
Whatever price range you decide to go with you must wear polarized sunglasses or you can not sight fish for pompano in the wave backwash. The polarized lenses eliminate the glare on the surface of the water so that you can see under the surface.
The best color lenses for inshore and dirtier water scenarios are amber, rose and copper. If you are fishing super clean and clear water or you are fishing offshore a blue or a gray lens is best.
You will also want to stock up on UV performance fishing shirts to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays. These shirts have built in sunscreen and are moisture wicking which means they evaporate your perspiration more efficiently keeping you cool on those hot days on the water.
How to choose the best tackle for pompano fishing Florida:
You are going to need the correct tackle to catch a ton of pompano on the beaches or inshore around the grass flats. The best tackle depends upon the conditions and where you are fishing for the pompano.
I like to use a 4000 series reel filled with 20 pound braided line coupled with a 7 to 8 foot medium/heavy action rod. I like this set up during the higher parts of the tide when I am fishing off of the beach. The pompano that I am targeting at high tide are within casting distance for a small rod.
BEST REELS FOR POMPANO FISHING
I have used a whole bunch of different rod and reel combinations over the last 40 years. These include Shimano, Diawa and Penn to name a few of the more popular ones.
In my opinion, the Penn Spinfisher series or reels is the best for surf fishing applications. They are sealed so no beach sand gets into the reels. They also have great drag systems and are made of corrosion resistant metals but the sealed aspect is what is the most important to me.
No sand or water will get in these reels.
They run $150 plus to buy but they are worth it for any fishing scenario where your reel gets dropped in the sand or water.
If the tide is at the lower stages, then the pompano will most likely be close to the first sand bar and you will need a surf casting rod that is 10 feet or bigger. You will need the extra rod to get the bait out to where the pompanos are feeding.
I have a 10 foot surf casting rod that I will put my 4000 series reel on when the tide is low. I usually do not fish off of the beach at low tide because I like to fish very close to the beach.
When I am fishing out of my kayak for pompanos in the intracoastal waterway or inside some inlet somewhere, then I will use the 4000 series reel and the 7 to 8 foot medium/heavy action rod.
Watch the video below to figure out where the pompano are on the beach.
Conclusion:
Pompano are one of the most sought after fish along the beaches and grass flats of Florida when they come rolling through town. You will know when the school is around because the beaches will have dozens of surf casting rods lining the beaches.
That's what happens when you are the best tasting member of the jack family and you come through town. They will be very abundant usually from November through April.
If you are in the Treasure Coast of Florida book a kayak fishing trip with me. We target pompano, spotted sea trout and redfish a lot in the colder months out on the grass flats. Catching pompano on the grass flats from a kayak is a blast.
I hope that this article helps you catch more pompano or at the very least helps you have more fun fishing for them. Let's get some lines wet Florida.
My company has a nice selection of sun protection performance fishing apparel for you to choose from. You can see our selection by clicking on the visit our store link below.
Want to catch more pompano?
- Learn the best baits and lures.
- Learn when and where to find pompano.
- Learn how to catch more pompano consistently.
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