Pompano Secrets

"Pompano can be hard to catch in March, but the secrets of the pros can help.."

  I’ve seen some excellent pompano anglers on St. George Island. Dedicated. Resourceful. Competitive. And all would rather eat a raw MirrOlure than tell you any of their secrets. However, in the best tradition of fishing journalism, I can tell you what I observed from the pompano pros.

One of the generally “known facts” about pompano is that they have large eyes and depend on sight more than smell. Therefore many anglers will hop their Nylure, tipped with a sand flea, over the bottom at various speeds, trying to get the pompano’s attention.

But the pros only know one speed, dead slow. They know that pompano make a living out of sniffing out fleas on the bottom and sucking them out of the sand. And they know that dragging the jig slowly puts out a little chum line in the sand leading right to the hook.

Most anglers know there is a moon. The pros know how the moon affects pompano. The spring run will have peaks during the full moon in March and April. Good time to plan the vacation, just like many of the pros do.

The pros always seem to have sand fleas, even early in March when the critters are as scarce in the surf as bikinis. Well, the ugly secret is that they go off the island for their sand fleas. That’s right, they go to Carrabelle Beach and Indian Pass where the water warms up just a little faster. If you were to ask one of these folk where they caught their sand fleas, they likely as not say, “ By the hind foot.” If they said anything.

Pros accept the fact that it is difficult to catch pompano in March. So they come earlier, fish harder and leave later. When they hear neophytes babbling about all the pompano that were caught “yesterday”, they just smile. They’re the ones who caught them “yesterday”. If you wait to hear that the pompano are “running” you will always be there the day after “yesterday”.

Pros know that pompano move fast and seldom stay long so it’s important to be able to land your fish reasonably quickly and get back out. You won’t see them fishing with ultra-lights. Most use ten-to-twelve pound line with about twenty-pound fluorocarbon leader.

When you have a crowd of pompano anglers you can always spot the pros. Most of the anglers are watching each other. Maybe some are watching the girl on the beach. Some with greedy buddies are watching the ice chest.

But the pros are the ones watching their lines, right where the line enters the water. Pompano are famous for picking up the jig and swimming toward the angler. When the pro sees the slightest glimmer of slack in his line, he reels hard and sets the hook with the rod high over head, to take out slack.