# sight fishing for pomp



## fishingnoob (Oct 20, 2007)

ok i ama noob to this sight fishing thing i find what i think is a good spot and throw out bait bu7t i have never ubderstood what you guys are seeing in the surf when you ssay you sight fish for pomps ...can anyone help me on this ??:banghead


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

Sightfishing means they are spotting the fish and casting at the actual fish. You need some good polarized sunglasses and some practice spotting. Try to go with somebody who does it and have them point out a few. Warning: You are venturing into a world of fishing that you will never be able to get enough of!


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## hamhands (Oct 21, 2007)

......waiting for garbo to weigh in, he seems to have a handle on it.


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## fishingnoob (Oct 20, 2007)

yea well i already have a bad addiction to fishing so it couldnt hurt to know how to spot them in the surf or otherwise 

i did see alot of fish breaking the surface out just beyond the first sand bar today on the beach but cant cast that far (i wish )


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

I would rather sight fish than any other type of fishing I have ever done. There is something very special about picking out a target fish and then making the effort to catch that fish. The accomplishment reward is so much greater than blind castiing. I fish in the Keys as often as I can make the trip and Sight fishing there is a way of life for many guides and people that fish that area, and it is an awesome fishery. Sight fishing Pompano is as close to that type of fishing I have found in the panhandle, and it is pretty close. 

One of the best things to do this time of year is to walk the beach East to West in the morning when you have a rising tide and a smooth Gulf, today would have been perfect. The fish will mostly be coming from the West and be pretty easyto see. Walking East to West you will have the sun behind you and your ability to see will be best. Your not looking for breaking fish, look for individual or pods/schools of fish, and look only as far as your visibilty allows you to look for individual fish. Pompano will be moving quickly and sparadic in their movements, as if they are searching for something and skitso in their nature. When you see one or a pod, cast a Pompano Jig (I hear Connor's in Pinkare the best), out in front of the fish, and as they approach the jig lightly bounce it on the bottom in a retreave that would make it look to be trying to escape the fish. Many times they will jump right on it and you set the hook and the fight is on, sometimes you will have fish that follow and are more difficult to fool into taking the jig, That is the fish that will make you want to come back, and will get you so caught up in sightfishing that you will loose your job (I have lost 6 jobs so far because of it and will loose some more). It is as fine of sportfishing as you can do, and I truly love seeing a hard to catch individual fish and fooling it, it is you and him, and when he wins that is O.K. stuff too. Use 4 to 8lb line and it is as good of sportfishing as I can find here. 

Most people tend to think they will not be able to see the fish, and it is hard for some people. My wife loves to walk the beach with me and look for them, and years ago she couldn't see a Pompano until it was in the icechest. Here is what she done. She practiced by standingin front of a mirror and trained her eyes to see everything that was reflected in the mirror except her image. This worked. She spots fish as well as anyone now, and she gets off on seeing them before I do sometimes.


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## hamhands (Oct 21, 2007)

Well said garbo,thanks for taking the time to explain in detail.


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

Don't think they (Pompano) won't come up shallow, I have seen themstay on a jig until their dorsal fin was out of the water. I love that stuff. 

Alot of people tip the jig with sand fleas, shrimp or gulp, and that will enhance your odds of getting the interest of the fish. 

Hamhand, do you Pompano fish?


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## hamhands (Oct 21, 2007)

I like to to hit the beaches after i drop the kid off at school during the week. Weather pending of course. Yes i love pomps they fight like hell and taste good. I like to catch pretty much anything though.


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

What Beach do you usually fish?I am not from here and I usaully fish Johnson's Beach in Perdido, and I have found them there O.K. but not as good as I have found them in PC and Destin.


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## fishingnoob (Oct 20, 2007)

thanks for the info Garbo, first year i ever did any surf fishing was pretty good fishing pomps in the spring but never seen any until they were on my hook, but i will sure try it out next time i get out there and let you know how it went


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

> *hamhands (11/5/2007)*Yes i love pomps they fight like hell and taste good.[\quote]
> 
> agreed! a great fighter on light tackle and very good on the table :hungry


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## hamhands (Oct 21, 2007)

water is usually clearer on pensacola beach imo. i hit johnsons a lot also its a little closer to the house.


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

> *Garbo (11/5/2007)*Don't think they (Pompano) won't come up shallow, I have seen themstay on a jig until their dorsal fin was out of the water. I love that stuff.
> 
> Alot of people tip the jig with sand fleas, shrimp or gulp, and that will enhance your odds of getting the interest of the fish.
> 
> Hamhand, do you Pompano fish?


I've caught them with literally inches of line from the rod tip. You have to use light line, with 8 lb test being heavy so your reel will need to have a super smooth drag. I also fish a fairly heavy drag and a firm rodto ensure the hookis set, so again the drag has to be perfect and the jigs ultra sharp. The best way to get good at seeing the fish is to identify everything you see be it a mullet or a piece of wood. Smooth calm days with lots of sunshine are good but I prefer a foot or so of surf, but you really have to have sunshine.


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

One added tip when sight fishing for Pompano is to look for schools of mullet. The Pompano won't mix with them, but will follow the school closely. 



To make sight fishing for Pompano even more exciting use a flyrod or a light spinning reel. I use Pompano flies with the flyrod and homemade jigs on the spinner,, 



I am presently using a 12 foot UL spinning rod with a Penn reel. I can cast a 1/4 oz jig to the first bar with no problem. My flyrod is 9 foot 8wt, but I do go to a 6 wt if real windy..



I find that white, yellow, chartreuse green and hot pink are all winners. I use Crazy Charlie Jigs with and without a skirt with a piece of cut fresh(don't cheat) shrimp.



The Pompano are getting larger. The last time that I went, I caught 6 fish with a total weight of 13 lbs. All were horses. I did 'cull'. 



I do love to fish for them.



The guys who say that it isn't too shallow to catch Pompano are correct. I have seen Pompano in water that barely covered themselves lying flat to snatch a sandflea or jig. C2


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## Inn Deep (Oct 3, 2007)

Charlie,

Question for you. On a boat it is illegal to cull fish. I did not realize it was legal to cull them on the beach. What's the difference?


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

whats a crazy charlie jig?


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

To answer both questions:



First, I may have used the wrong terminology when I mentioned culling fish. What I really meant was 'cherry-picking' for lack of a better term.. You don't have to handle(mishandle?) the fish. My hands never touch!



I deliberately release the smaller fish before I land them. My release thingy has a 10 foot handle on it and it's a simple matter to reach the fish and release it. I do this on obviously illegal(smaller) fish. I don't cull per se. I agree that culling which involves throwing smaller fish back for the sharks and crabs to eat should be illegal. I apologize for the confusion. My signature explains my position on game law violations..



Secondly; the Crazy Charlie jig is my personally developed jig that I make when I couldn't find a commercially made one that does what I want it to do. I have placed a few of these jigs with friends to let me know how they like them and so far, good reports. I am not ready for commercial production just yet. I'm still perfecting(after 40 something years) the C2 Pompano fishing system. I do use various attractors on the C2 Jig .



I caught over 500 Pompano this season and killed only one sand flea. I did use sandfleas, but with the 'beach renourishing' thingy, sandfleas got scarce on some beaches. I had to revert to type.



You have to try the UL Syatem. It's a ball even when you latch on to a 40+ cobia who decides that your tiny jig is edible. The rod held up OK , but the reel exploded. I needed a couple of 1000 more yard capacity. C2


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## Garbo (Oct 2, 2007)

I don't know about all the specialized equiptment this has turned into. I flyfish alotand I fish a Crazy Charlie fly, and it is a good fly for Pompano.I have walked the beach in search of Pompano with a flyrod and caught quite a few, but flyfishing from the beach can be somewhat cumbersome with sand andlong cast and other beachgoers, although it is a blast I have seen it not the best equiptment for beach walking a public beach. 

I normally walk a stretch of beach and how far will be based on the time I have to go, and or,who is with me such as my lovely wife, who loves to walk the beach. 95% of the time I will have one rod which will be a 6' - 6# spinning rod with a VanStaal 100 reel and some extra jigs in my pocket. Any like gear will do, but if you are walking a stretch of beach the least amount of gear you have the better in my opinion. I have never done it any other way, soI don't know anything about 10' release tools, or extra gear of any type, as I will be walking a public beach. I have found it best to take 1 Rod and the least amount of gear possible. I have found in this type of fishing lesser to be way better, besides you don't want to attractany tourist.


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## tiderider (Oct 1, 2007)

> *Inn Deep (11/6/2007)*Idid notice your signature. That's what prompted my question. Now your response has me thinking a bit. From a legal point of view. Some of the FWC go by the letter of the law. Lets say a FWC guy watches you catch 15 Pompano. Releasing legal size fish (but not removing them from the water) and keeping larger fish. Would he consider that culling? Now lets take the same scenerio except that I am on a boat. If I catch a couple of 17" snapper and release them with out taking them out of the water, then I catch and keep a couple of 19" snapper and keep them. Is that culling or not? Does it matter if the fish are removed from the water?
> 
> Don't take this wrong. I have no problem with what you are doing. You mentioned that you were not releasing them to be killed by sharks or flipper or whatever. I don't think that matters legally. To me if a FWC Officed sees you catching and releasing legal sized fish \\then keeping legal size fish I bet he can write you up.
> 
> ...


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## fishingnoob (Oct 20, 2007)

WOW did i mention i am a noob to all this and i do know the limit and the size you can keep, but what is culling and i must not understand the thing about catching and releasing ...IE getting wrote up for it....


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## sailmaker (Dec 10, 2007)

Charlie2, I think that you and I could be good friends! I have used the line about game law violators many times myself in the past and just as I'm sure happens with you some folks think that's going over the edge., kind of like the few that were backing up the dude who caught his red but kept catching them and giving them to others. UNREAL!


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## jmac (Oct 14, 2007)

What is a 12ft ul spinning rod?


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

I have checked with the FWC and they tell me that what I'm doing is not culling asn is legal. The operative word is 'holding' then releasing fish to make way for a better fish. I don't hold fish period. 



A 12 foot Ultralight spinning rod is used to cast small Pompano jigs. Every fish feels good! C2


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## Charlie2 (Oct 2, 2007)

I also do spiking when conditions won't allow use of the peewee rod. Sight fishing for Pompano is a learned talent. You first have to establish what they like. You also learn to differentiate between species. My personal best is 22.5 inches to the fork. I did compare it to a similar fish which was weighed and it probably weight somewhere in the 7.5 class. A real experience to catch. I did catch it on the peewee pole. no; it wasn't a Permit.



I like nothing better than sight fishing, but will do as you say; Take a chair and an umbrella. along with a bucket, and a cooler. Oh yes, a fishing outfit. It helps.



Cast bait out then visit with my friends. I also do a lot of 'bird' watching



Got a new blank with guides in the mail today. Will wrap it in the AM. Test casting is reaching 150 yards plus. Not tooo shabby(for moi). C2


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## jmac (Oct 14, 2007)

What rod blank and guides are you using to get 150yds?


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## seanspots (Oct 4, 2007)

Sight fishing pomps is a blast.I don't do enough of it but when I do,I use Connors Calico pattern jig with a little smelly jelly.


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## jim mills (Jan 8, 2008)

Hello Charlie.

Hello Obie. I'm ready to hit the beach with 4 lb test on an ultra lite rig. Where did you find a 12 foot ultra lite rig, Charlie. Did you build it yourself from a fly rod blank?

I no longer live in New Mexico. I'm home again.


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## Ultralite (Oct 1, 2007)

not to derail but, WELCOME BACK Jim Mills!:clap:usaflag...haven't heard from you in a long time. I was thinking the worst and I'm glad it's not so...welcome back to the sunshine state man...

get that avatar with the gunslinger back on if you still have it...


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## jim mills (Jan 8, 2008)

Hello, Ultralite!

I have a new avatar which accurately displays my personality.:blush:


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## mpmorr (Oct 3, 2007)

Welcome back Jim.


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