THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 19, 1994 TAG: 9406160185
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 42 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Ford Reid
DATELINE: 940619 LENGTH: Medium
I flipped a bait onto the bar and bounced it slowly across the bottom, bringing it back to me in fits and starts.
{REST} Bingo! A fish took the bait and ran with it. A few minutes later I was holding a pompano, a beautiful and tasty little fish.
You might come to the Outer Banks with dreams of giant bluefish and huge red drum caught on surf rods as big as telephone poles. But in the summer, you shouldn't overlook the little guys, especially the pompano.
This fish is the bluegill of salt water. That is to say that ounce for ounce it fights about as well as anything in the sea. A member of the jack family, the pompano rarely gets bigger than about five or six pounds and fish caught in the surf will be much smaller than that. One that weighs two pounds will be a challenge and a joy.
Like all jacks, it is built to swim and when it is hooked it swims like crazy.
The most effective bait for pompano is mole crabs, sometimes called sand fleas. If you have ever walked along the edge of the surf, you know these creatures. They are exposed by each wave, then immediately begin digging back into the sand.
Like all crabs, they grow by shedding their shells. If you can find a mole crab that is still soft in a new shell, it will make an outstanding bait for pompano.
I also look for heavy concentrations of mole crabs when picking a place to start fishing for pompano. If there are a lot of them in a particular place, the fish might find that out and if they do, chances are they will stay there and feast.
Pieces of fresh shrimp are also excellent bait for pompano, but why not use what is right at your feet?
Use a small hook snelled with light, clear monofilament. These are shy fish. Some anglers fishing for them even sneak down to the beach as if they were after turkey.
Some serious pompano fishermen say only gold colored hooks should be used. I don't know how important that is, but if you are buying hooks anyway, you might as well get gold ones. It sure won't hurt.
Jig the bait slowly along the bottom, stirring up a little sand to get the fish's attention. Be sure to work the bait all the way back to your feet. Pompano often feed very close to shore.
Use the lightest tackle that you have. The fish are usually feeding right in the wash, so mammoth casts are not necessary. Light tackle will make it easier for you to control the bait and it will surely make it more fun when you hook a fish.
I like to use a fly rod when light winds make casting one on the beach possible. Bonefish flies, such as the Crazy Charlie or one of the epoxy flies, work very well.
If that doesn't work, I am not above fly casting live bait, especially if I have some luck in finding soft mole crabs.
However you fish for them, you ought to give pompano a try. They are, after all, right there at your feet.
by CNB