Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Outdoors

The elusive pompano

Just when anglers think they have a beat on these members of the jack family, the fish vanish. It takes some persistence, experimentation to land the savory species.

By ED WALKER
Published April 23, 2005

It was blue runners we were looking for.

We needed big live baits that could be kept alive in a pen overnight for the next day's kingfish tournament. Jason Capra pitched a bait rig toward a channel marker at the edge of a shallow channel and jigged it a few times.

"There we go," he said, as something grabbed the multi-hooked rig.

Suddenly the drag screeched, and the fish ran for open water. Clearly, we had hooked something a little bigger than expected. The fish peeled line one way, then dashed back the other and jumped out of the water.

"Big pompano!" the crew said in unison.

Moments later, the shiny 3-pound fish was in the onboard. A kingfish may not eat it, but there were plenty of folks in the cockpit of the boat who eagerly volunteered.

Though we did not catch any more pompano that evening, we thought we may have discovered a spot they like. It had all the prerequisites: fast-moving water, sandy bottom, good visibility and even a little structure.

A few days later, we returned with a full arsenal of pompano equipment. Anchoring up current from the marker, we cast yellow jigs all around it and to the channel edges.

What did we catch?

A blue runner.

There was not a pompano to be found. That is pretty much the norm for these tasty but elusive members of the jack family. Just when you think you have them figured out, they disappear.

Pompano can be successfully targeted in the spring and summer with a little persistence and experimentation.

Starting in late March or April, the fish and their cousins, permit, begin to appear on deeper grass flats and along the sand bars and swash channels of the barrier islands.

Sand is the primary feature of the pompano's preferred habitat. Most of the time, they are found near the beach and passes or by sandy patches on the grass flats.

Those close to the flats are difficult to track since they roam vast areas and are nearly impossible to see over the dark bottom. Most caught in these areas are taken by anglers jigging for speckled trout who happen to get lucky and land one.

The most consistent spring pompano action takes place along the beaches. Schools often are found cruising up and down the edge of the sand bars and swash channels. These edges can be the subtle slopes of the outer sand bar or steep drop off of a channel edge. Anywhere the water is clean and the current sweeps the sand has potential.

One surefire indicator of the presence of pompano is called "skipping." This refers to their odd habit of leaping from the water and out of the wake of passing boats. The reason they hang around these areas is food.

Pompano feed exclusively on small crustaceans and mollusks that live buried under the sand. Pompano have small under-slung mouths that are designed to root around and dig out food such as mole crabs or "sand fleas," other small crabs and coquinas.

Since sand edges often are made up of loosely compacted granules, pompano and permit can dig for food there easily. During periods of strong current, they simply will move along these edges and let the billowing current turn the sand over for them. When they spot an exposed crustacean, they quickly rush down to grab it before it can burrow back into the bottom.

The best lures for pompano and permit emulate this escape tactic of their prey. There is nothing that draws their attention like a quick-hopping yellow jig.

Those with sparse hair, no hair or minimal soft plastic bodies jump and fall vertically and rapidly, receiving the most attention. When bouncing a jig, be sure to allow it to touch the bottom between hops. The tiny puff of sand it creates is an added attention getter.

Tackle for pompano and the small permit often found with them should be light and minimally visible. They have keen eyesight and will shy away from lines they can see. The lighter the line, the more bites you probably will receive, with 6- to 8-pound being just about perfect. Ten-pound test will work, but it may reduce the number of strikes. A section of 15- to 20-pound flourocarbon leader is helpful to reduce breakoffs from other fish. If there are no other fish around, tie the bait or lure directly to the line and use a light drag.

The average-size pompano in the Nature Coast area is about three-quarters to 1 pound, with occasional fish in the 3-4 class. The world record weighed in at just over 8. There is an aggregate bag limit on pompano and permit of six per person total. The minimum size limit is 11 inches for each, and there's a maximum limit of 20 inches fork length. Anglers are allowed to keep one fish more than the 20-inch minimum per day.

[Last modified April 23, 2005, 00:54:19]