By Marco Pompano, Surf Fishing Guide
The Dog Days of Summer have come to an end. Hurricane season is upon us, and for the surfing crowd, it’s been some of the best swells ever. All my surfing buddies are really beat up from all the fun they had. The fishing, on the other hand, has been pretty slow. Until now. I have been using fish gum, all different flavors, Pompalicious, Fleacicle and Pompsmash, and the results are in: when I pair them with sand fleas or crab knuckles, I’ve gotten red fish, black drum, whiting and pompano. Ya, Mon!
Fish gum is easy to use, but it melts off quicker than you’d like. But, while it’s still on the hook, it works. Some of the best fishermen I know are using it all the time. Mixed with fresh bait, it’s the way to go. I’m out here in the Ponce Inlet with my buddy Nick today. He called me early this morning and said he was on it heavy, going for his limit. Which is six. He needed some help so he called me. Ya, Mon!
That’s the kind of call I like to get. We are using two types of crab, blue crab knuckles and calico. As I’m trying to set up my poles, his are going off two at a time. I’ve never seen anyone as fast as this guy. He’s running and reeling and reeling and running. He’s doing the Bamba before I set up my second pole. My first pole goes off: that tap-tap-tap-tap, a few zigzags, and a nice pompano comes onto the beach. I’m in the game. I don’t even have time to bait up, they are hitting so hard.
After the doldrums of the summer, this is what we wait for. As the water cools, more and more fish will come. I’ve set up four poles, and within minutes the two outside poles dance in the dance I like. I run to the furthest one, and a few minutes later a really nice pompano slithers onto the beach. I go for the next pole. I’m grinding. It’s coming in! Oh, no! Just at my feet, it spits the hook. So it goes. I’ll get him another day. And, of course, that day is today.
All of a sudden the pompano show up in force. The local fishermen are all out here today. Some are getting their limits. As for me, I just scored a couple of big scouts. Those are the ones that come in first. It’s time to get the hickory going. The reggae music of Freddie McGregor is blasting in the background, and me and this new season of pompano are heading to the smoker.
