Surf Casting Florida
Learn how to catch more fish off of the beach.
What are the best pompano jigs?
The best pompano jigs are banana jigs and small feather jigs. Those are the most productive types of jigs for catching pompano regardless of where you are fishing for them.
Many times a fishing lure looks just like the live bait that it is supposed mimic. BUT when it comes to pompano rigs, it seems like the size and color of the lure is more important that its likeness to the creature it is a mimic of.
For instance, pompano like to eat little clams called “coquinos”, sand fleas “mole crabs”, small crabs, small fish and shrimp. A piece of lead with some pink nylon hair does not really look like any of those creatures. BUT if you make them pink, orange, yellow and white you will catch all sorts of pompano, whiting and permit with those colors.
Pompano are one of the most coveted species of fish for surf fishermen all over Florida. There is a reason for this because they are great fighters and they are one of the tastiest fish that swims in the sea. They sell for about $20 a pound in the local fish market. That should tell you something about why pompanos are so popular when they migrate through your area.
I am a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the beaches, mangroves, mud flats and oyster bars all over Florida for over 40 years. In the article below, I will teach you everything that you need to know about catching pompano with jigs.
Let’s get started.
Watch the video below and learn more about the best lures for pompano fishing
How do you fish a pompano jig for best results?
The best technique for fishing with pompano jigs is to cast them out into the surf and slowly work them off of the bottom. The best retrieve seems to be a twitch, twitch, pause and let the jig hit the bottom and then reel it another 10 feet, then repeat the process. I suppose it resembles a crab or a shrimp popping up out of the sand and them trying to dig back into the sand to hide again.
This really gets the attention of the pompano who are looking for just such a prey item. They will pick up the jig off of the bottom and put up one heck of fight once they figure out that they are hooked. You have to remember that pompano are in the jack family. All jacks put up a great fight.
The orange colors are very attractive to pompano. Pompano fishing professionals swear that the reason is because the eggs of the sand flea are bright orange. It is a nice bonus meal for a hungry pompano to not only get to eat a sand flea but also 50,000 eggs at the same time.
The banana jig is the go to style of jig these days. It is shaped like a banana and moves erratically when you jig it in the water column. They are referred to as goofy jigs too. You can add a nice feather teaser to the jig to make it even more attractive to the pompano.
Watch the video below to learn more about adding a teaser to your pompano jigs.
Where is the best place to use a pompano jig?
Pompano are a fish that you will find around sand. There is lots of sand on the beach. There is lots of sand on sand bars inside inlets. There is lots of sand around inshore islands. There are lots of sand bars around inshore channels and tidal creeks. All of those places will have pompano around them if the water temperatures are between 65 and 75 degrees and there is some food around.
The best way to fish those areas is to cast into the deeper cuts and channels within the sand. Work it slowly with a twitch, twitch pause just like you would off of the beach. The pompano will be in schools so once you find one, you will have a shot at catching a few more until the school moves on.
Sometimes if the water is shallow enough you can see the pompano “tailing” as their tails are sticking out of the water as they search for food in the sand. They will be digging in the sand for shrimp, crabs and small fish.
Conclusion:
Pompano are one of the most sought after fish in the surf of Florida. Surf casters flock to the beaches in the Winter months just to get a shot at these tasty silver fish. They move through in large schools and may stay on one beach for a few days. Then other times they might be at your beach one day then be 10 miles down the beach the next day.
If you want to catch a pompano with a lure then you will need to have some sort of banana jig or feather jig. They love those smaller types of jigs in pink, white and orange especially.
I think that their elusive nature is what is so attractive about pompano. Pompano fishermen are avid and often obsessed with these fish. They will follow the schools for 100 miles up and down the beaches to catch these fish.
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