Pompano tend to run in pods or schools, so it’s quite common to hook more than one at a time, especially along the beaches. (Photo courtesy of © Hongqi Zhang (aka Michael Zhang)/Dreamstime)
October 24, 2025
By Frank Sargeant
It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” said Yogi Berra, whose famous quote applies to pompano fishing just as well as baseball games. Those feisty and delicious fish are primarily targeted in spring and early summer in Gulf states and the lower Atlantic Coast, but there’s another run that starts in October and often lasts until the most severe cold fronts make it down to South Florida in January. That late run, by the way, often yields some of the largest specimens. In fact, the all-tackle world record—a pompano weighing 8 pounds 4 ounces—was caught in mid-October in Port St. Joe, Fla., east of Panama City. In addition, the IGFA pompano length record, a fish measuring just under 26 inches, was caught at the end of November in South Hutchinson Island, near Stuart, on the opposite Sunshine State coast.
THE MIGRATION Most abundant in the surf when water temperatures range between 65 and 75 degrees, pompano patrol sandbars and troughs along the beaches, usually in small schools, until forced to find milder areas when the summer heat starts to take hold. But once the first cold front or two drop water temps back below 70, many of the fish, including some of the year’s biggest, return to provide fun and excitement for anglers, along with some tasty meals. This late push sends pompano from as far north as Cape Hatteras, N.C., southward as coastal waters increasingly chill.
You’ll find pompano just off the beach, either along the nearest sandbar or sometimes in the trough created by the waves and the undertow just a few feet from the dry sand. (Frank Sargeant photo) Pompano along the Eastern Seaboard head to South Florida, providing particularly good and consistent action to folks fishing along the beaches from Hobe Sound down to the Keys from Christmas through early April (most years). The fish turn back north in search of cooler waters as summer approaches, then start the circuit again in the fall. By contrast, their northern Gulf Coast counterparts move out to deep-water oil rigs for the winter, where the water is warmed by inflow from the Loop Current sweeping up from the Caribbean, before they head back toward the shore when temperatures again reach pompano’s comfort zone.
LOCATION RECON In the surf, the majority of pompano run the trough closest to the beach along the Atlantic Coast and just outside the second bar off the beach in the Gulf. In places like St. Augustine, Fla., where the beach has a lengthy, flat slope, a long surf cast may be needed to reach the first trough. However, on Florida’s Panhandle beaches, pompano are sometimes caught just 30 to 50 feet off the dry sand.
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Of course, fall is also a great time to surf fish because the swimmers and sun worshipers are a lot scarcer then, leaving the beach to fishermen and shell collectors. Still, it’s best to get out there at sunrise on a cool October morning, when you’re likely to have the beach all to yourself.
Like other species that live along the beaches, pompano frequently seek “runouts,” areas where the water that waves push over the sandbar and the adjacent trough then retreats and funnels seaward. These are the same areas that cause rip currents running directly away from the shore, the bane of swimmers. Those rips are not difficult to see. They form anywhere there’s a cut through the nearshore bar, and there’s usually a string of foam heading away from shore where they run strongly.
It’s helpful to walk the beach during one of the extreme low tides that occur on the new and full moons every month, particularly when the wind blows off the shore. That’s when it’s easiest to identify where the troughs, runouts and holes are located. Of course, the topography can change dramatically with a heavy surf, but previous scouting can certainly reveal some good places to start fishing.
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Pompano are also known to make incursions into coastal bays and estuaries to feed on crabs, shrimp and other forage, and they can sometimes be seen along the edge of a flat, “skipping” in the wakes of passing boats. Anywhere you see one skip, you can be sure there are several more. Therefore, it pays to stealthily return to these spots and fish small jigs or cut shrimp.
RIGGING FOR POMPANO The standard pompano rig for the surf consists of two or three No. 1 or 1/0 circle or Kahle hooks on droppers (10 to 12 inches apart), and a snap swivel at the end to hold the sinker, usually a 2- to 4-ounce pyramid or Sputnik style to best hold bottom. A cylindrical foam float, about 3/4-inch long, goes on each dropper, with a bead separating the float and the hook. The little floats keep the baits suspended off the bottom, plus they provide a splash of color (fluorescent yellow or pink are best) that helps the fish zero in.
A simple tandem or multi-hook rig, with a sinker clipped to the end and small floats to keep the baits off the bottom, is all you need to target pompano in the surf. (Frank Sargeant photo) While this rig is well established and easy to buy at local bait shops and online, the ready-made kind is generally tied on 25- to 30-pound monofilament, which is easier for pompano to detect and may deter some bites, especially when the water is clear and the surf is close to calm.
Although you’ll run the risk of breaking off the occasional big redfish or black drum that grabs one of your baits, it’s better to make your own rigs using 15- to 20-pound mono. When the surf is rough and you need a heavy weight to hold bottom, opt for the latter or go up to 25-pound mono to prevent snapping off the sinker during the cast.
Medium-action surf rods in 10- to 13-foot lengths are favored by pompano specialists, many of whom also prefer 15-pound braid and 4000 size spinning reels, since they are a suitable match for the quarry and afford good casting distance. Some anglers opt for steelhead rods, which have a softer action than most surf rods and make it easier to lob long casts without throwing the baits off the hooks in the process.
TOP BAITS AND LURES Since sand fleas (aka mole crabs) are the prevalent forage for pompano along the surf, it should come as no surprise that they are the top choice of bait. Although fresh, dead ones will catch fish, live sand fleas are preferred, and they can be purchased in some bait shops. Otherwise, they can usually be procured by raking the wet sand along the water’s edge (with special rakes available at many tackle or sporting goods stores, and even on Amazon) at the beach you intend to fish.
A bucket with some sand wetted with saltwater and kept cool will keep sand fleas alive for hours. If you put the baits in a soft mesh bag first and occasionally flush them out with a dip in the surf, this will keep them alive longer. Should your fishing plans require keeping the sand fleas alive overnight, just place the bucket with wet sand inside a cooler with a little ice.
If sand fleas are not readily available, baiting with fresh shrimp is the next best option. After getting rid of the head and removing the shell, cut the tail into inch-long chunks and fish them on a standard pompano rig, like you would sand fleas.
While surf-casting from the beach is quite popular, pompano are also caught by wading in the surf and fishing along coastal bay sandbars. (Shutterstock photo) You can also catch plenty of fish on artificials. Yellow or pink bucktail jigs, no more than 2 inches long and with a 3/16- to 1/4-ounce head, are proven favorites. Doc’s Goofy Jigs also have a cult following among pompano experts. And scented and realistic-looking offerings like Berkley’s Gulp Sand Crab are also quite effective.
ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS Count me among those who doubted that sticking a piece of artificial attractant on a hook along with a live sand flea or piece of shrimp would increase bites. But after trying them numerous times over the course of a few years, I’m now convinced of their effectiveness. Whether it’s the bright color of the artificial attractants or their scent, adding a strip of Fishbites or a similar product to your live bait will definitely increase the number of pompano bites.
In fact, if you can’t get live bait, using the Fishbites alone will frequently result in plenty of fish for the ice chest. Fishbites’ E-Z Flea in orange or pink is my favorite, with the E-Z Clam and E-Z Shrimp also highly productive. A strip about an inch long is all it takes.
ON THE TABLE Although pompano are part of the jacks family, their white, delicate meat is infinitely more desirable than that of most of their relatives. Fillet them as you would any other species, then remove the skin, cut away the red (blood) line and you’ll have some beautiful fillets that taste great any way you decide to prepare them.
I like them best oven-broiled with a splash of Teriyaki, some melted butter and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. I set the oven at 450 degrees and let the fillets cook until they start to brown. Then, I just serve them with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
By the way, there’s a nice chunk of meat in the head that many people miss when they fillet their pompano. Make a horizontal cut, starting just above the eyes and moving back to where you start your normal filleting, to remove this additional boneless treat.
This article was featured in the October 2025 issue of Game & Fish magazine. Click to subscribe.
