# Pompano leader peg board



## GROUPERKING

Well I built the prototype this morning, I'm still doing a little adjustment here and there but I've about got it the way I like it. I need to add one more nail for a larger single drop conversion for a bull red leader. I've always tied all my leaders by hand,but some times my guesser would be off on length or distance between the drops. So.... I decided to try my hand at building a peg board for consistency of leader lengths and distances between the two drops. I like it ! Keep in mind that this is just the prototype, not fancy or pretty. ..rusty nails and all. But now I know my dimensions and distances needed between the pegs to give me the leader that I want every time. Goes much faster too !



























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## Chechem

I like the idea, king, but it needs explanation (push pins vs nails?). 
Very nice innovation for pre-setting the lengths. Mine are inconsistent.
I'm building one (out of some pretty cedar).

:yes:


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## GROUPERKING

The push pins are just there to hold the open knot while you make the other one for the second drop. After you complete the second knot , you lift the line off the two nails closest to you and replace the back of the knot to the back nail and cinch it down. The push pins don't really bare any weight, they just hold the open knot until it's time to close it. This is needed because the open knot will not go back over the back nail until you remove the line from the front two nails.

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## Brett

Is the snuff there to spit on your hook? Lol


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## Brett

You have a good thing going. Im staying tuned. 


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## GROUPERKING

Brett said:


> Is the snuff there to spit on your hook? Lol
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Close ....but actually the line . It helps to cinch the knot without friction burns. They say that you can do it with regular spit, but I think that the pompano dig the wintergreen flavor.  

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## Brett

Me too. Works for me. Lol


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## NKlamerus

Looks good, how do you gauge a good distance? I like the hooks to to be about an inch apart with the main line tight. But I can still hook them together for travel.


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## SurfFishingMeister

Russ, I know you like those eagle claw #3 circle hooks. I started using them and they are the best bar none! However, I prefer the black steel to the silver ones. They seem stronger.


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## GROUPERKING

NKlamerus said:


> Looks good, how do you gauge a good distance? I like the hooks to to be about an inch apart with the main line tight. But I can still hook them together for travel.


To accomplish that ,it's going to take a little trial an error. I would start with a junk board and just drive my nails in deep enough to hold. Tie a rig and see where you need to adjust. I went to Lowe's this morning and bought a new board and marked and stained and varnished it. I made a few adjustments that should get it right where I want mine. I'm waiting on it to dry now. Tomorrow I'll take a few more pictures and list the measurements that I settled on. That should give everybody a starting point. I also found that by adding one more nail that you could use the same board to make a single drop bull red rig. 

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## GROUPERKING

SurfFishingMeister said:


> Russ, I know you like those eagle claw #3 circle hooks. I started using them and they are the best bar none! However, I prefer the black steel to the silver ones. They seem stronger.


This is going to sound funny. ..but the weakness of the hook is one of the things that I like about it. They are a brittle hook and will most of the time break rather than bend. I have yet to find a pompano that can break them ,but if you hook a big stingray that sucks to the bottom sometimes you can get lucky and break the hook instead of the line. Then all I have to do is remove what's left of the old hook and put on a new one. I've caught many big reds and black drum on these hooks without breaking them. Most of the time when I break one it's because I was trying to. Those big rays can be aggravating some days.

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## Chechem

Thanks to your idea, king, I designed a pegboard last night for tying my (freshwater flyfishing) nymph rigs. They have a tippet ring and 2 nymphs on separate tippets, so the distance between them needs to be just right: ~ 6".

BTW, you suggested trial and error for setting distances. I did that and used push pins (instead of nails) as trial locations on the board until I found the correct distances. Then I used nails. The push pins are easily moved around to set the distances.

No photos yet. Photobucket has changed their format, and it's a pain to upload photos now. Ugh.

Again, thanks for this innovation. I don't use snuff, but if Pompano like it, then Brown Trout will too! And I didn't use treated lumber; tried a square of plywood.

:thumbup:


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## GROUPERKING

Good deal ! I'm glad that it worked out for you. I finished mine this morning. I just snapped a quick picture , but I'll try to get a better one later and post with an explanation of how it works and maybe some measurements for any others that might want to build one.









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## Chechem

I'd definitely like to make one, king.
Thanks (in advance) for posting measurements and explanations.

:notworthy:


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## Worn Out

*I sure wish C2 (Charlie Smoot) was...*

...still with us to chime in...


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## GROUPERKING

Sorry for dragging this out , but I got hung up in town today, while I was running a bunch of errands. But I have been thinking about how to best explain the board design and how to use it. I'll try to get it together sometime tonight.


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## MrFish

GROUPERKING said:


> Sorry for dragging this out , but I got hung up in town today, while I was running a bunch of errands. But I have been thinking about how to best explain the board design and how to use it. I'll try to get it together sometime tonight.


You need to make a video. Tryn' figured it out, so......:whistling:


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## GROUPERKING

Lol. Yeah that's what I've been thinking about trying to do . I'm scared that it might end up on AFV. 

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## Tom044

Grouperking looks nice I made one a couple years ago and made a couple hundred pompano rigs but my problem is the grandkids take them from me all the time.I made them special for them 60 for each of them so we get to the beach and they tell me they forgot to bring them.I told them last trip to check there fish bag or just watch me fish.
I made some from floats unlimited .75 pear shaped floats.
Having problem finding foam floats in bulk.If you see some let me know.
I enjoy your post great stuff. Tom


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## GROUPERKING

First video - take # 437. Lol

http://youtu.be/HlyTviI7NUw

Well after watching it I found a mistake already. On the bull red loop. The distance between the bottom two nails is 7" and the correct distance between the bottom nail to the top nail is 5 1/2". That's the distance from either one of the bottom nails to the top nail.
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## GROUPERKING

Distance between the two drops / hooks 

https://youtu.be/dIicYs4KeHE

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## GROUPERKING

Tying the knots and leader lengths 

https://youtu.be/U9kEVWLi1lk

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## GROUPERKING

Well my production crew had the day off , so I did the best that I could. One handed fat man productions ...lol. I hope that this helped to explain everything ,if not feel free to ask questions. After I did all these and watched them ,I wish that I had done a little better job explaining some of the steps.


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## GROUPERKING

Tying an actual pompano rig

https://youtu.be/MsJHqf9l0yU

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## Chechem

king, this helps tremendously; thanks much.

I noticed several issues (besides production issues  ):

1. 3/0 Eagleclaw hooks. Seems that anything smaller than 3/0 probably wouldn't have an eye large enough to fit your rig, because you double up the line with that design. I agree that tying into a double line helps hold the hooks away from the main axis. Can you address 3/0 hooks versus 2/0 or 1/0. Whiting and smaller pomps might be missed with 3/0. 

2. Fishbites. Interesting that you mentioned only tying rigs without corks now. Did you mean you seldom use peeled shrimp or "fleas" these days? Or did you mean you're just tying these as examples for Fishbites.

3. Fishbites addendum. Do you use all flavors? I've only used pink-colored shrimp and orange-colored flea colors.

4. Swivel for sinker. I simply double my line into a loop for the sinker. Does the swivel have a function besides simplicity for sinkers? They don't seem to ever spin as baits do.

Thanks again.


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## GROUPERKING

As far as the 3/0 not catching whiting and small pompano. ... it gets them ! I caught more undersized pompano this past year than I ever have before. Now as far as the line not going through the eye of a 1/0 , it will. I occasionally make a shorter leader for my seven foot whiting rod with the 1/0 hooks on it. I only use this when the whiting are really close to the beach. But honestly I prefer to fish the 3/0 even for whiting just in case a pomp hits it. I have never had a problem hooking whiting with them. Now as far as shrimp and sandfleas go , I rarely take any with me anymore, most of the time all I have with me are fishbites. As far as colors and flavors. All the shrimp flavored ones work. I also like the sandflea orange. I just bought some new electric chicken color shrimp flavor the other day, but I haven't tried them yet. I mix the colors up until I find out what color they like that day. As far as the bottom swivel goes it might not be necessary and I have done it without them the same way that you do yours , but I add them now days to help prevent twisting.


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## Chechem

GROUPERKING said:


> As far as the 3/0 not catching whiting and small pompano. ... it gets them ! I caught more undersized pompano this past year than I ever have before. Now as far as the line not going through the eye of a 1/0 , it will. I occasionally make a shorter leader for my seven foot whiting rod with the 1/0 hooks on it. I only use this when the whiting are really close to the beach. But honestly I prefer to fish the 3/0 even for whiting just in case a pomp hits it. I have never had a problem hooking whiting with them. Now as far as shrimp and sandfleas go , I rarely take any with me anymore, most of the time all I have with me are fishbites. As far as colors and flavors. All the shrimp flavored ones work. I also like the sandflea orange. I just bought some new electric chicken color shrimp flavor the other day, but I haven't tried them yet. I mix the colors up until I find out what color they like that day. As far as the bottom swivel goes it might not be necessary and I have done it without them the same way that you do yours , but I add them now days to help prevent twisting.


The eyes on my hooks are too small for 20# mono. Looks like I need to start buying Eagleclaw, or change to 15#.  What mono do you use for these rigs? Sorry if I missed it.

Good stuff. You're the king!


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## GROUPERKING

I use 20 lb. and the eyes on the eagle claws are larger than most other brands. And thank you sir. 

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## Bdanger

Thanks GROUPERKING! I've seen these before but never made one. I usually sit on the couch with a cold beverage watching YouTube and tie these things with my teeth. This will make it more consistent and easier! Soon my little boy will stop grabbing the colored beads and help me tie them!


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## pompanojoe

*Charlie*



Worn Out said:


> ...still with us to chime in...


I knew Charlie, and I think he'd would say, "Why do you need a peg board to tie a Pompano Rig?" Then he's start talking about "running and gunning", his latest long distance jig arrangement and the status of the leaves on his Pompano tree. Oh, and the Pompano Posse. I do miss my friend Charlie...one of a kind.


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## Pomphunter

Great Russ, will build if not here , when I get down there.
Thanks beats what I've made by a country mile!


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## Pomphunter

Chechem said:


> king, this helps tremendously; thanks much.
> 
> I noticed several issues (besides production issues  ):
> 
> 1. 3/0 Eagleclaw hooks. Seems that anything smaller than 3/0 probably wouldn't have an eye large enough to fit your rig, because you double up the line with that design. I agree that tying into a double line helps hold the hooks away from the main axis. Can you address 3/0 hooks versus 2/0 or 1/0. Whiting and smaller pomps might be missed with 3/0.
> 
> 2. Fishbites. Interesting that you mentioned only tying rigs without corks now. Did you mean you seldom use peeled shrimp or "fleas" these days? Or did you mean you're just tying these as examples for Fishbites.
> 
> 3. Fishbites addendum. Do you use all flavors? I've only used pink-colored shrimp and orange-colored flea colors.
> 
> 4. Swivel for sinker. I simply double my line into a loop for the sinker. Does the swivel have a function besides simplicity for sinkers? They don't seem to ever spin as baits do.
> 
> Thanks again.



Been using 3/0 octopus circle hooks for many years, not too big even for juvenile pomps. Catch whiting,trash and smaller fish, probably lose a lot of small fish but then again I don't have take them off and throw back. Had a guy come up to me early one morning asked how I was doing, I said nothing yet, he said I see what your problem is, you are using too big of hook. I didn't tell him that I had limited for 3 days in a row before that day.


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## welldoya

Dang, I would've thought 3/0 was way too big. 
I'm not sure of the size I'm using but it's not even a 2/0.


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## GROUPERKING

welldoya said:


> Dang, I would've thought 3/0 was way too big.
> I'm not sure of the size I'm using but it's not even a 2/0.


Most pompano fishermen feel that a 3/0 is too big. A lot of the old school guys are quick to tell you that a 3/0 is to big ! How I came to use 3/0 hooks . After years of having minimum success at pompano fishing I met a fella that was a hard core pompano guy. Pompano was really the only fish that he pursued and he was damn good at it . I eventually got him to show me everything that he did and what he used. He used light wire 3/0 hooks ,and swore by them. So I tried them and have used them ever since. Most of my pomp fishing friends that have fished with me , now use 3/0 hooks as well. But big or small they all catch pompano. It's just a matter of what works best for you. My personal feeling about them is that with the wider gap I have fewer misses when they hit and fewer get off because I have a bigger bite on them with the larger hook. Also they don't seem to pass over my bait due to the larger hook. So it's a winner with me.

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## Chechem

GROUPERKING said:


> Most pompano fishermen feel that a 3/0 is too big. A lot of the old school guys are quick to tell you that a 3/0 is to big ! How I came to use 3/0 hooks . After years of having minimum success at pompano fishing I met a fella that was a hard core pompano guy. Pompano was really the only fish that he pursued and he was damn good at it . I eventually got him to show me everything that he did and what he used. He used light wire 3/0 hooks ,and swore by them. So I tried them and have used them ever since. Most of my pomp fishing friends that have fished with me , now use 3/0 hooks as well. But big or small they all catch pompano. It's just a matter of what works best for you. My personal feeling about them is that with the wider gap I have fewer misses when they hit and fewer get off because I have a bigger bite on them with the larger hook. Also they don't seem to pass over my bait due to the larger hook. So it's a winner with me.


Well, I've rigged up with 2/0 on top and 3/0 (as you described) on bottom for this coming trip. See if it matters for me. 

Sometimes, king, I think you're just trolling us! Chicken livers?


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## GROUPERKING

Chechem said:


> Well, I've rigged up with 2/0 on top and 3/0 (as you described) on bottom for this coming trip. See if it matters for me.
> 
> Sometimes, king, I think you're just trolling us! Chicken livers?


The chicken livers were just a special recommendation for MrFish to use. I try to shoot straight with the rest of y'all. Lol

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## GROUPERKING

Well, how many of you actually made a leader board after this ?


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## Bdanger

I did! Works great!


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## MrFish

GROUPERKING said:


> The chicken livers were just a special recommendation for MrFish to use. I try to shoot straight with the rest of y'all. Lol
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


I tried them and caught a load of permit along with 2 bonefish at Alabama point. No lie! They work! Give them a shot!:thumbup::shifty:


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## SurfFishingMeister

Why in the he$) is your name Grouperking??????? You are obviously the pompanoking!!!!!!


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## Pomphunter

I did, best thing since sliced bread!


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## GROUPERKING

SurfFishingMeister said:


> Why in the he$) is your name Grouperking??????? You are obviously the pompanoking!!!!!!


Lol...definitely not the king. Back when I joined the forum I still had a gulf boat ,and most of my fishing was offshore. Grouper were on the top of my list back then ,but the gulf boat is gone...so I had to pick a new target . I had always had an interest in pompano fishing. ...but I sucked at it. I have spent many many many hours trying to get better at it since then. Low and behold, I actually got a little better at it....well at least enough to not suck at it anymore. Lol


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## Emerald Ghost

Great idea Russ, I like it.


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## Pompanomaster

If the 3% hooks are the bomb then 4 aut should be even better, combined with chicken gizzards or livers either one and you have without doubt the best pompano setup know. Need to enter the pompano tournaments before you even get near the gulf, that way you will not be disappointed about it later..


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## GROUPERKING

Emerald Ghost said:


> Great idea Russ, I like it.


 Thanks Pat, I wish I would have made one years ago when I first saw one. Fluorocarbon is too expensive to waste on guess work. I probably get two more pomp rigs for every roll of fluorocarbon now.


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## OHenry

Another great post. Thank you so much. Haven't made the board yet... I'm pompano fishing for the first time in the morning, I'm only 52, LOL. Just picked up a 12 foot ugly stick and hand tied a couple rigs. Friday I'm going to try for some sheep's.
Thanks for the great info.:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:


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## GROUPERKING

Thanks and I hope that you slay'em tomorrow !


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## OHenry

GROUPERKING said:


> Thanks and I hope that you slay'em tomorrow !


Well, I finally went to sleep around 0230 (excited at the opportunity), got to the beach around 0630 and didn't see any features that struck me, so we put out a spread of 4. Caught two whiting and a small sting ray. No pompano's today. I had a great time and enjoyed the morning. The winds are going to be high tomorrow... Contemplating a day off on Monday to try it again. We tried fishbites, live shrimp, and squid; nothing touched the squid.


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## OHenry

Built the board yesterday and tied several rigs with the 3/0 hooks. Went out today and didn't get a bite from 7-11. I tried fish bites, fleas, and live shrimp. The surf was rolling in and the lines were pulling to the west. Ended up with 5 oz sinkers. The tide was peaking when we had to leave. 0 for three on the pompano so far.


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## GROUPERKING

Well I'm glad that the peg board worked out for you . Hopefully the pompano will bite for you next time. 

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## Bama Rick

New member here. I tried posting this last week, but it never showed up, so I'll try again. Hopefully it won't be a triple post. 

I've been surf-fishing for pompano on and off for 25 years or so. I never got really serious about it, usually a last minute call or something. This year I got the itch again. I started digging thru tackle and managed to piece together a rod and reel. I had the occasion to get myself something nice, so I bought what I considered a decent combo rig and a new cart. Then I found this forum.

I had always used the standard, Chinese made, double drop surf rigs. They worked well enough to catch a few fish, but would always disappoint and fail when anything substantial was hooked. After watching Grouperkings videos a few times, I jumped on in and made a board. I was tying rigs in short order.

I also started hearing and reading about this stuff called fishbites. I was skeptical to say the least, then a guy at the cart store showed me a pic of a large pompano that he caught that morning. I was hooked again.

Here we go! I headed to my favorite beach with my shiny new tackle, cart and superbait. I set two rods at daylight and caught 4 hard-heads right off the bat. I started cussing fishbites and looking for sand fleas when the first pompano hit. He was barely legal, so I put him back and promptly caught 6 more, 3 of which were keepers.

After I caught a large whiting, I realized I had caught 12 fish without changing or adding bait. I ended up catching 15 fish that morning by 8 a.m. and may have used a quarter of the bag of fishbites. I'm sold.

The next morning I caught another limit of pompano and a nice bull red at 39". Pics are in the surf fishing reports sub forum. Many thanks to Grouperking for putting this little tutorial together!


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## GROUPERKING

You're welcome Rick, I'm glad that it helped. I'm looking forward to future pompano reports from you. Good luck !


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## GROUPERKING

Bumped it back up for you bud.


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## Diggety

Spent some time making up some new leaders yesterday. Though it'd be a good time to bump this one.


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