# Finally



## no parts (Jun 12, 2008)

Camped at Big Lagoon this weekend with my buddy Shane. Fished Johnson?s beach Saturday afternoon and finally caught a keeper pomp after months of trying. Kept the pompano and a few whiting for campsite dinner. Oh and also Shane got a big ugly on the surf rod I picked up from jcallham. 37? without pinching the tail. All caught on sandfleas tipped with fish bites. 

This was a memorable trip for me. I never surf fished until this summer. I?ve seen many many posts of y?all catching pompano and I?ve only caught 2 juvys but at least 100+ whiting on my trips. To feel the power of a 14? fork length on a 4000 with 10 lb braid really has me hooked. Table fare.... it was delicious. Not as good as the whiting in my opinion, but how hard it fought....hooked.


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## no parts (Jun 12, 2008)

Caught at least 15 gafftops yesterday also. Do y?all keep these? We Fished this morning at the public beach access near Johnson?s beach and caught a sunburn. Haven?t had luck when the surf is flat. Live sandfleas on double drop loop rigs. We fished for about two hours before we had to go back to camp and pack up.


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Perseverance ! Nice catch !


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## AdrenB (Jun 20, 2017)

no parts said:


> Caught at least 15 gafftops yesterday also. Do y?all keep these? We Fished this morning at the public beach access near Johnson?s beach and caught a sunburn. Haven?t had luck when the surf is flat. Live sandfleas on double drop loop rigs. We fished for about two hours before we had to go back to camp and pack up.


Sailcats are decent table fare, hardheads not so much.


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## Joraca (Dec 29, 2007)

no parts said:


> Caught at least 15 gafftops yesterday also. Do y?all keep these? We Fished this morning at the public beach access near Johnson?s beach and caught a sunburn. Haven?t had luck when the surf is flat. Live sandfleas on double drop loop rigs. We fished for about two hours before we had to go back to camp and pack up.


The gafftops (sailcats) I caught on JB on Saturday were a little small (1-2#) to filet out. 2# and up are good fare. (boneless, skinless, bloodless, fried). You'll throw out a lot more than you keep.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Way to go man, that's what happens when you keep at it!

On a side note, it's nice seeing someone else being honest about the taste of pompano. Great to eat, but whiting (& many other species) are much better!


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## Russian (Jan 13, 2009)

Congratulations, pound for pound Pompano fight very hard, they are a blast to catch when you get into them. I've met a lot of people who love Pompano, but I've also met a lot who could go either way. Pompano is IMO one of the best tasting fish in the ocean, but there are so many choices at the top. If you ever get a lot of them, try smoking some, they are very good smoked, but even better grilled with the skin on. I have always thought they taste somewhat like a rainbow trout.


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## Snagged Line (Sep 30, 2007)

Russian said:


> but even better grilled with the skin on. .


 (GREAT POST OP!!!!!!!!!!!!!... Congratulations on a great trip.)


Can you expand on this?........................Cook it on the Grill like you would "Redfish on the Half shell???".......... Does the meat release from the Skin when it cooks???





...


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

thanks for sharing report & pics.
catch 'em up.


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## tld6008 (Mar 19, 2016)

Snagged Line said:


> (GREAT POST OP!!!!!!!!!!!!!... Congratulations on a great trip.)
> 
> 
> Can you expand on this?........................Cook it on the Grill like you would "Redfish on the Half shell???".......... Does the meat release from the Skin when it cooks???
> ...


Fillet a redfish with skin and scales left on, cook directly on grill with skin down. Meat releases perfectly. Same goes for Pompano although I use one of those hinged type wire racks so I can flip the Pompano I use olive oil and Salt /pepper before putting on grill. :thumbup:


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## CalvinandHobbes (Jan 25, 2014)

sailcats are good eating but you need to keep a large one since they are mostly head and guts.


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