How to Catch Pompano in the Surf: Fisherman's Guide

Fishing for Pompano in the Florida surf is lots of fun. Pompano are a dish shaped tasty little fish found on both coasts of Florida. These fish are highly sought after by fishermen for their table qualities. In other words, Pompano are mighty good eating. I have been fishing the Treasure Coast area of southeastern Florida since 1988. In the next few paragraphs you will learn more about how to surf fish for Pompano.

Pompano fishing usually is done on the beach. There are some bridges and piers where Pompano are also caught up and down the coast. In this article we will speak mainly about surf casting for Pompano from the beach. The best Pompano fishermen use specialized equipment that may be thought as being too heavy. Pompano only get to be about five pounds tops.

The better Pompano fishermen use fishing rods from 12 to 14 feet in length. A longer rod is necessary most of the time to enable the fishermen to cast a long distance of about 100 yards. You have to be able to reach the sandbars that the Pompano cruise in search of food. The exception is that in late April and May pompano sometimes can be caught closer to shore in the first wave. If you see a car with rod racks on the roof , you probably have found a Pompano fisherman.

The reels used are usually conventional Abu Garcia reels capable of holding a lot of fishing line. Some of the guys use large spinning surf reels. You definitely need a good fishing reel that holds a lot of line because you are casting 100 yards. Long fishing poles and good reels are a necessity if you want to catch Pompano consistently.

A sand spike made out of a pointed 3 foot piece of #40 PVC plumbing pipe holds each pole. The Pompano rush at the bait so hard that they hook themselves and your line goes slack. Then you simply reel in the fish and stick it in your cooler. The Pompano fight hard in the surf even on these large poles.