By Marco Pompano, Surf Fishing Guide
“Fishing doesn’t add days to your life, it adds life to your days.” I don’t know where this famous quote comes from, but I like it. It rings true…
It’s lively out here on the beach. It’s always changing, not always for the better. This winter has been tough. It gave us a little taste. Some pompanos were running, the water got cold, and they ran away again. In between we’ve been fishing it up. Got a few nice red fish, and lots of sharks. I throw them all back, keep them alive. Plenty of whiting and a lot a lot of wind and strong current.
I still would rather be here on the beach surf fishing: keeping my back to the land and my face to the ocean. This way I don’t have to deal with anything that’s behind me. I just stay focused on the rough, big, beautiful waves that seemed to never get tired, or tiring.
Right now, I’m setting up on the beach: 4 poles. I’m trying out this OP bait soak from Fish gum. It’s like shake and bake. I put it on the shrimp in a bag. It’s a powder that’s made from the scent of ghost shrimp which is one of the most highly prized baits out there. Here is a little about what goes into it: Ghost shrimp are crustaceans more than shrimp. They can be found all around Florida, down into the Gulf of Mexico. They burrow down into the sands at low tide and they need very little oxygen to survive. They can go down to four feet. To get them out, you have to use a tool like a plunger suction tube and find the ghost shrimp holes to get them. They grow up to four inches long.
Now, to use this ghost shrimp powder, you shake up the bag, let it sit for an hour before you start to use it. It’s not so bad, I’m catching on it: some whiting and one red fish, so they are biting it. It’ll be easier to tell when the Pompano come back. I’ll report back in, but I like it. It’s innovative, new, and why not?
The fish gum is hard to get. Pomp Smash, Pomp-A-Licious, and Sand Fleasicle Strips are always out of stock on their website, but I find ways to get them through some bait shops in Alabama, where they come from, and I don’t mind paying for it. I put on little pieces to hold my sand fleas on, and it seems to be trending now. Many people I speak to are starting to use it. I still prefer my live fresh crab, knuckles, sand fleas, fresh, dead shrimp, and of course live clam if you can get it.
It’s Bamba time! One of my poles is shaking and getting me away from writing. Ya, mon! The pole’s bending and line is going out. I’m scrambling down the beach. Nice hit, opening the drag a little, let it run. I don’t want it to break my line… I don’t see a fin. Maybe it’s something better than a shark. It’s giving me a three headed shake. It’s a red fish. It’s coming onto the beach, what a beauty! In the slot 25″. Red fish cakes tonight! Ya, mon!
So now with the sun setting and the reggae music playing: Alpha Blondy singing Coco de Rasta. The day is coming to a mellow end, so me and these fish are heading to the smoker.
