Happy New Year!
Hello fellow anglers. I trust that everyone had a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. I know I did! And if you are anything like me, you have probably made a few New Year's resolutions. Well forget those things, IT'S TIME TO FISH! For those of you who either don't have a boat or don't feel like fixing your boat, worry not. January is an awesome time to catch the Florida Pompano. Why Pompano? First, Pompano are one of the most delicious fish to eat. Pompano have flaky white meat that has a delicate flavor reminiscent of mahi-mahi. In local fish markets, these fish will cost around $7.50 per pound and nearly $25 per meal in a restaurant. (My personal favorite happens to be Pompano en Papillot, which is a filet wrapped around a delectable seafood stuffing.)
In addition, they can be caught on light tackle from the surf, and they put up a tenacious fight making numerous, long spool-emptying runs. Typically, they can be found in either inshore or near shore waters around sandy beaches, oyster bars or even grass beds. The average size of the fish is around three pounds, but the Florida record is 8 pounds, one ounce.
Florida Pompano
The bait of choice for Pompano is sand fleas. They can be easily obtained by using a rake along the surf of the beach. To keep this bait alive, simply keep them in a bucket with some moist beach sand in the shade.
The following is a guide for ideal Pompano Fishing: To start with, the water temperatures should be 65 degrees or warmer. Clean water is best. As far as a tide goes, the last two hours of a rising tide are best, and the first hour of a falling tide can be good. The surf should be heavy enough to stir up the sand fleas but not to strong to knock you down. A calm or light wind is usually present in these conditions. A steady and/or rising barometer is ideal. If white caps are visible, then the surf is too rough.
There may be some preferred spots for these fish, but just remember if you don't find success within the first hour move to a new location.
If surf fishing is not your thing, then you may want to explore the northern ends of both the Banana and Indian Rivers. In these areas, large black drum will be feeding along spoil islands and around channels in search for clams, oysters, shrimp and other bait fish. It will not be uncommon to catch one 30 inches or larger. The bag limit for black drum is five per day with a legal size of 14 to 24 inches. If you are interested in a lasting memory of your catch, give King Sailfish Mounts (www.kingsailfish.com) a try.