quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
Pompano like clear water and love sand crabs, particularly females with eggs. If you can find the crabs with a small rake like device then the pompano will be near by.

A light weight rod with 6 lb mono and a light weight tossed 10 to 30 feet into a trough near the surf break should work.

You usually find them where the water is washing over the sand, and you'll see small holes/bubbles in the sand as the water runs over and then recedes.

Go to White's Tackle for weekly update. This is current report.
Snook are back in season as of midnight, and with the warm, calm conditions, odds of catching a keeper in the Indian River are pretty good. Plenty of good fish have been seen on the flats and around docks, and the NLBN Mini Mullet has been a good answer in both settings. Seatrout numbers are still good as well. with DOA Shrimp, live shrimp, and other soft plastics working the best. Fish have been on the flats as well as spoil islands. Redfish numbers have grown a bit as well. Surf fishing has been a bit slow, with some occasional Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel, while Pompano numbers have slowed. Offshore has been fairly slow, with Kingfish in the 70′ to 80′ range being the best bet. Snook fishing in the inlets last night for open season was very good, mostly on flare jigs, and Fort Pierce has had some Tarpon as well at the mouth of the inlet. Good luck out there. Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm-
359 AM EST Wed Feb 1 2023

I’ve built several rods using parts from mudhole.com

I got my new rod in on Wednesday and put on a brand new Daiwa BG4000. Went out fishing yesterday at Clearwater Beach and caught two pompano, a flounder, some pinfish and some mystery fish (sea trout maybe). Of all the fish we caught, we got one keeper pompano. I trimmed the eyelet on the old Fenwick rod so as not to snag anything and gave that rod with my Daiwa BG3000 to my son. He was casting real good.

The day was a lot more chaotic than I imagined. Constantly re-baiting hooks and letting little fish go. The pinfish really keep you busy as they nibble the bait right off the hooks. I tried one pinfish as bait but nothing.

All in all, a good day. We tried using the sand flea rake but the beach was too compacted and full of seashells. All we were tiny seashell pieces. No sand fleas. The fish bites sustained us, despite not having live bait. We tried the pier as well with no luck. But it's good that on our first real day of coastline fishing we actually caught fish. I'm already having better luck with pompano than I did with Oregon surf perch.

I'm going to try Anna Maria Island next. I remember the sand there being much softer. We may just make a trip out of finding ideal beach spots with lots of sand fleas before really trying again. Might try the piers too. All I need is a pier net and we'll be all set up to fish.





Don't know what these are...










No luck at the pier.


Florida winter fishing is so rough...

Tony.

Nice!

Looks like a good day fishing, and good for Fenwick.

FYI - it isn't an eyelet you broke. The correct term is a "guide" or "line guide."

Sounds like a good day nonetheless. I hear the frozen bait clams, in the bait section at walmart work out well for surf fishing. Generally you want to use gold circle hooks if Pompano are around. They are terrific on the grill! Generally you rake for sand fleas in the water/wet sand. The areas where the wave is washing and receding, if you see bubbles when it's receding, that is where the sand fleas are.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Laz...12c7f90&gclsrc=3p.ds

quote:

Originally posted by jimmy123x:
Sounds like a good day nonetheless. I hear the frozen bait clams, in the bait section at walmart work out well for surf fishing. Generally you want to use gold circle hooks if Pompano are around. They are terrific on the grill! Generally you rake for sand fleas in the water/wet sand. The areas where the wave is washing and receding, if you see bubbles when it's receding, that is where the sand fleas are.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Laz...12c7f90&gclsrc=3p.ds

It was indeed tasty!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: benny6,