I keep hearing that the surf fishing is not as good as it was in years past on our beaches. Well the last part of January and into February that has not been my experience. Did I have bad days; you bet but, mixed in with the good ones, I canât find anything wrong with the quality and quantity of the fish on our beaches. In a recent trip out we caught five different species of fish. All special and went home with a keeper pompano, nice black drum (pictured), three bluefish, and a whiting. We scored on fresh clams and mullet for the most part.
On the beach fishing I am a people watcher and tend to keep an eye on my neighbors. I like to know what is going on around me and who is and is not catching fish. The angler to our right did very well on the pompano on this particular day. I would say 3 or 4 pompano on a conservative count because I did not watch him the total time. As we left the beach we had to go right by him and I took a quick glance into his bait bucket. Any guesses on what his bait was that day? If you said sand fleas you are right and nice big live ones. I didnât have to ask him any questions because you donât buy that many sand fleas at the bait shop to go fishing. So the angler prepared for his pompano fish trip by collecting his fleas ahead of time and used the prime bait to catch his pompano.
This is one of many fine points that many of us miss in our fishing endeavors. We must prepare for any fishing trip not just put the rods and reels in the car and head for the bait shop and then the beach. I suggest that we all take some time to plan our outings. What am I fishing for, what time should I go, what bait to use are just a few of the all important considerations before leaving the house. In the above example the angler obviously caught his sand fleas a day or two before because I never saw him use a sand flea rake in the four hours we fished near him. He was prepared to fish for pompano and had the bait of choice to do it and successfully as it turned out. I suggest we all take the time to think out our fishing trips and have a game plan in mind as we prepare. What is that great quote from the movies âI LOVE IT WHEN A PLAN COMES TOGETHERâ.
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