Capt. Jim Klopfer
Passes are fantastic spots to fish in March! “Pass” is just a term used on the Gulf Coast for an inlet. Passes are natural feeding and migration spots as they connect the inshore bays with the Gulf of Mexico. There are two fishing techniques that are very productive for anglers fishing the west coast of Florida. These are bottom fishing and drift fishing with jigs. Both are easy to do and produce a wide variety of species. Tides are an important factor when fishing the passes. Generally speaking, it is best to drift when the current is running strong and anchor and bottom fish on the slack tides. It is just too difficult to bottom fish when the tide is running hard.
Most passes have structure on one side and a sand bar on the other. Big Sarasota Pass on the north end of Siesta Key is a prime example. The deepest water in the area exists there, up to 25 feet in depth. Structure such as rocks, docks, and seawalls are plentiful.
This structure attracts many different species of fish. Bottom fish will be there in good numbers. Sheepshead in particular should be thick in March. Mangrove snapper, grouper, black drum, redfish, jacks, snook, and mackerel will also be found in this structure. The best approach is to anchor just up-tide of the structure to be fished and allow a live shrimp or other bait to drift back with the tide.
Drifting the passes while vertically fishing is a very effective techniques as well. It is also easy to do, which is important to fishing guides looking to get inexperienced anglers hooked up. The key element that makes this so efficient is that the lure spends the entire time in the strike zone; on or very close to the bottom.
Anglers motor up-tide of the area to be drifted. The jigs are lowered to the bottom then sharply jigged as the boat drifts along. Each lift and fall of the lure will result in a little puff of sand being kicked up. This is a very natural looking presentation that mimics a fleeing crustacean. Pompano, permit, Spanish mackerel, ladyfish, jacks, sharks, and other species will fall prey to this technique.
It is important to use the correct style of jig. Special pompano jigs work well. They are compact and dense and sink quickly, as opposed to larger soft plastic baits. “Banana jigs” are also very popular and effective on pompano and other species.