When can you catch a pompano in Florida?

The answer to that question depends upon what part of Florida that you live in. Florida is a very long state and it can take you 12 hours to get from Key West to Pensacola. There are lots of different water temperature variations throughout the state of Florida too.

The water temperature might be 50 degrees in Jacksonville but only be 75 degrees in South Florida. Water temperatures are the most important factor for catching pompano in Florida.

Pompano like a water temperature from about 65 degrees to about 75 degrees. You can catch them a couple of degrees lower and a couple of degrees higher but think of that temperature range as being the pompano sweet spot.

So you have to figure out when the water temperatures in your part of the state of Florida will be within that pompano sweet spot. That is one of the wonders of the internet. You can find out just about anything that you want online. Simply search water temperatures in near me and you can get a good idea of the water temperatures where you live.

If they are in the pompano sweet spot then you are good to go. Grab your surf fishing gear and hit the beach for some pompano fishing.

Now that you know the sweet spot for pompano fishing you can figure out when they will be leaving one area and heading north or south to find the optimal water temperatures. Let’s say that you live in Cocoa Beach, Florida. You noticed that the water temperatures in Daytona Beach just dropped into the high 50s.

Pompano do not like water temperatures in the 50s so they will be heading south to find warmer water in this scenario. Cocoa Beach is about an hour south of Daytona Beach so the pompano will be in your area soon or they might already be there waiting for you to catch them.

You can follow the schools of pompano up and down the coasts by using this water temperature technique. That is exactly what the commercial pompano fishermen do. They might run up and down the coast for 100 miles chasing those delicious silver fish. They fetch around $20 a pound in the local fish markets so it is worth it for them to follow them great distances.

Conversely, let’s say that you are in Cocoa Beach again for this example and the water temperature just got into the 80s. Pompano do not like water temperatures in the 80s. The water temperatures in Daytona Beach are still in the mid 70s. Where do you think that the pompano schools will be?

Yep. You guessed it. They will be in Daytona Beach and waters north of there because they want that 65-75 degree water temperature sweet spot. It is not hard to figure out when you can catch pompano in your part of Florida. You just have to figure out where their favorite water temperatures are and then go fish there.

Conclusion:

Pompano are a very migratory species of fish. You can find them West to Texas and all of the way North to Virginia in the Summer. They like a very specific water temperature range and will stay on the move to keep themselves within that range.

This makes them hard to catch but easy to catch at the same time. It is hard because you might have to travel to catch them but it is easy to figure out where they will most likely be at any given time.

The pompanos’ transient nature is one of the characteristics about them that makes them so much fun to fish for. That and their delicious fillets. I hope that you can catch many more pompano when they visit your town.

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