# Pomps, Puffers and Pelicans, Oh no sharks too!!!



## fishin for pompanos (May 10, 2012)

Saturday morning the family and I and some friends decided to go to the beach and do a little bit of relaxation and fishing. The first thing that we noticed was how the beach had changed from the storm that came in a few days before and the water was a little muddy up close. Lines were in the water and we were fishing by 8:15. We caught a couple catfish right off the bat. Hoping it wasn't going to be a catfish day! Shortly after that we landed our first Pompano and then another. The next fish was what we think maybe in the jack family; not sure. That's the first time we caught that species of fish. Right after that the wind changed and started blowing a little bit out of the west. The water that was a little muddy up close had started to clear up. I looked up and I saw my rod get hit; landed a 2 foot shark. A puffer fish, oyster fish and 3 more catfish soon followed. It was getting close to 12 noon and I was thinking we needed to catch another Pompano. Boom, the next two were pomps. I looked up again and saw rod #1 getting smashed. The first thing I thought about was a big black drum or maybe a redfish. Nope that wasn't the case. It was a pelican! We landed a pelican but were able to untangle him and release him unharmed. The water was getting prettier by the minute. Next landed was a remora, then another shark about 18", and then two more pompanos. It was getting to be around 2:30 and we were thinking about leaving but decided to stay a little longer. Good thing we did because my buddy caught his first Pompano. Congratulations to you brother! Landed one more Pompano to end the day but it was a shorty. We ended the day with 7 pompanos, 1 shorty, 1 jack, 2 sharks, 1 puffer, 1 oyster, 1 remora, 5 catfish, and oh almost forgot, 1 pelican. All fish caught on shrimp and sand fleas. Thanks JC for a beautiful day.


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## Rickpcfl (Nov 12, 2013)

Nice report. That fish in the third photo is an odd fellow. I have never seen one of those.


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## MrFish49 (Jun 30, 2012)

Those smooth puffers are really good eating just make sure not to hit their gull bladder.


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## MathGeek (Mar 31, 2012)

Great report, and nice pics. About that pelican, I usually keep my unintentional wildlife interactions on the DL. 

Believe it or not there are whack job PETA type pseudoscientists out there who are already trying to use these interactions to restrict recreational fishing. 

So let the official record show that I've never caught a sea turtle, I've never shot a bald eagle, and my red snapper by catch is zero.

I did, however, shoot the last Dodo and use it for bait to catch the last Megalodon, which was released, but later died from deep hooking injuries for failure to use a circle hook.


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## fishin for pompanos (May 10, 2012)

Rickpcfl said:


> Nice report. That fish in the third photo is an odd fellow. I have never seen one of those.


Just found out, that fish is a half smooth golden puffer fish.


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## fishin for pompanos (May 10, 2012)

MathGeek said:


> Great report, and nice pics. About that pelican, I usually keep my unintentional wildlife interactions on the DL.
> 
> Believe it or not there are whack job PETA type pseudoscientists out there who are already trying to use these interactions to restrict recreational fishing.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the heads up....But I have to say, that's the greatest response ever to a post.


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## boomyak (Mar 21, 2014)

MathGeek said:


> Great report, and nice pics. About that pelican, I usually keep my unintentional wildlife interactions on the DL.


My thoughts exactly. Thought I hooked a big ray today in the surf on a crowded beach and once I saw through the surf that it was a sea turtle I let the bail go and was thinking to myself "please, don't let this become a bloody ordeal." Like ten seconds later I was relieved no one noticed and the turtle had spit the hook and all my gear came back intact. Didn't think I'd hook a sea turtle on half inch sand fleas though... And that was my only bite today too.


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## MathGeek (Mar 31, 2012)

boomyak said:


> My thoughts exactly. Thought I hooked a big ray today in the surf on a crowded beach and once I saw through the surf that it was a sea turtle I let the bail go and was thinking to myself "please, don't let this become a bloody ordeal." Like ten seconds later I was relieved no one noticed and the turtle had spit the hook and all my gear came back intact. Didn't think I'd hook a sea turtle on half inch sand fleas though... And that was my only bite today too.


I think the DL means we don't even talk about it on fishing forums. 

I know, it's real life. Given enough days on the water some interaction with other phyla of wildlife are bound to happen. But I can point to the studies pointing to interactions with non-target species leading to anti-fishing types inventing new regulations to restrict fishing to reduce these interactions, based on the theory that some percentage of human-wildlife interactions lead to mortal results for the wildlife. 

When it happens, the best course of action is to end the interaction as quickly and as painlessly as possible for the impacted wildlife. Cutting the line so the hook rusts out is much less likely to lead to delayed mortality than trying to recover the hook. I certainly would not recommend dragging a critter up on a beach for a visible hook removal. If the critter never leaves the water, almost no one will notice. 

But once the event has occurred, mentioning it on an internet forum gives fodder to some liberal master's thesis student somewhere to estimate the mortality of species YYY from internet "research" in which anglers mentioned it in their voluntary report. What happens discretely on a beach or a boat is over in seconds and can never have a public policy impact until you talk about it.


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## Randall2point0 (Feb 11, 2011)

Wirelessly posted



MathGeek said:


> boomyak said:
> 
> 
> > My thoughts exactly. Thought I hooked a big ray today in the surf on a crowded beach and once I saw through the surf that it was a sea turtle I let the bail go and was thinking to myself "please, don't let this become a bloody ordeal." Like ten seconds later I was relieved no one noticed and the turtle had spit the hook and all my gear came back intact. Didn't think I'd hook a sea turtle on half inch sand fleas though... And that was my only bite today too.
> ...


How long does it take a hook to rust out on a bird? I've seen hooks in blue herrings that have been there for a while. I could see cutting the leader as close to the hook for a turtle or fish since they are in the water and it will rust out quicker. But then with these new laser sharp hooks that are nickel plated how long would it take to rust out?


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

The smooth puffer is also called a rabbit fish. And I can't remember the name of the jack, but I seem to remember getting stabbed by one of those guy's anal fin.


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