By Marco Pompano, Surf Fishing Guide
Something strange is going on. I just drove the trike with my rods and equipment onto the beach. It’s 90° but I was hit with a cool breeze. What’s up?
I walk in the water with my first rod and immediately feel the cold water. This must be an upwelling. I thought perfect for pompano. Maybe they’ll sneak back in in the cooler water.
Some people think that cooler water will shock the fish and they won’t eat. I’m not one of those. I’m much more positive than that.
Now to get to what an upwelling really is: it’s a phenomenon, oceanographic style. It’s when wind pushes the top water away with the rotation of the Earth and lets nutrient rich water press down and push the cold bottom water to the top, where it stays for a while. The temperature of our water dropped from 90° to 80° overnight. It has to be like a perfect storm.
How do you like them apples? Ya, mon!
For me, it didn’t take long. I set up three rods, and after five minutes a pompano jumped at least 5 feet straight in the air, hooked on one of my lines! OK, maybe 3 feet. Just so I knew what it was.
We brought in three nice ones and kept catching palometa fish, which are small with a big bite, and threw them back in. They take off like a rocket ship when they hit the water. Fun to watch.
In Wilbur by the Sea now, they’re getting ready for Hurricane Debby, hoping it doesn’t lash out with the tail end of it like hurricanes Ian and Nicole did. They hit us with the back end of the storm and literally ruined half the beach. Most of the beach houses took a hit from the tidal surge at the end of the storm.
As for me, the last few years I’ve been taking a sabbatical to trout fish in Rawdon to go fishing with my brother-in-law Patrick, who is a real Quebecois. Rawdon is up there, north of Montreal in Canada. I’m here for the month of August.
Pristine conditions and glacier lakes, but it’s still not too late in the summer to catch some beautiful rainbow trout and brown trout. Ya, mon!
We troll for them on a little boat with an electric motor. No gas allowed on the lakes. That keeps it beautiful and quiet. I put a line out for at least 100 feet with a 4 foot leader, so the line goes down a little deeper. I’m trolling a spoon and a big fat worm, and it was on!
You can limit 10 rainbow trout and mix of brownies and if you want another 10 they charge you a bunch. It’s very regulated, and they check you when you leave the lakes. Good for conservation. They actually shut the lakes when the quota is met.
The weather up here is fantastic: cool at night and sunny during the day. Hopefully when I come back to Wilbur by the Sea, the pompano will be there. They usually come starting in September when the water cools off but right now, after a great day on the lakes, me and these trout are heading to the smoker.
