# pompano?



## iwanashark

anybody ever surf fished for pompano in the galveston area?


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## garybryan

Haven't fished for them but have caught several. Last summer down at SLP I caught two fish one day that looked like huge pompano. They were about 15x the size of pomps.


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## Fishin' Soldier

Not that abundant. Catch a few nothing like down south though.


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## Tiny

There are really not enough around to target them.


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## Barnacle Bill

I caught them at Surfside, Access Rd 5 back when I used to go to the coast a lot. Like others have said, not really in enough abundance to actually "target" them. I caught mine on live shrimp under a popping cork using a small treble hook...


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## iwanashark

*what i thought*

I read an article that was telling me in colder months to target pompano in pretty any texas coast waters, to use fresh dead shrimp in the surf guts. I've fished with dead shrimp on the coast all my life from freeport to high I and never caught one. So I knew they weren't as abundant around here but pondered how many others have caught them.

did yall eat them? how were they?


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## garybryan

Ate them once in florida but I don't keep them here. They were tasty in that resturant


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## Sea-Slug

I have caught a few here and there on Bolivar Penninsula and at Rollover Pass and SLP on fishbites and shrimp in August-Sept-Oct. I have caught quite a few over the years on Mustang Island and North Padre also. They like pink or chartruse fishbites better than shrimp. Good eats.


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## Sea-Slug

garybryan said:


> Haven't fished for them but have caught several. Last summer down at SLP I caught two fish one day that looked like huge pompano. They were about 15x the size of pomps.


 Sounds like Jacks. Dont confuse small jacks with pomps, jacks are inedible, but fight good. Jacks are great bait to.


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## speckfisher

Caught about 25 pompano about 20 miles offshore. Got into a school of them in about 40 feet of water and thats all we could catch. After catching about 8 apiece we were so worn out from the fight that we moved to another rig just to rest. Every cast and caught them in about 20 min. when the sun was beating down on us about 95 deg. outside.


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## iwanashark

*nice*

now thats a good catch greenie for the pic.


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## ComeFrom?

Great Pic. Did you use artificials or shrimp for bait? Those are so good eating. Thanks. CF?


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## Sweet Baby Cletus

*Pomps*

Growing up, Pomps are all we were fishing for when we surf fished. Great light tackle gamefish and even better blackened in an iron skillet!


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## creolefish

*None Better*

I have caught them on occasion from surfside jetty on small shrimptail spec rigs. Also caught a couple of big ones from slp pier before ike. I fried them with some fresh trout and my wife and I were both amazed at the flavor of the pompano. She took a bite, her eyes got big and she said "What is that!" . By far the best tasting fish I've had,fresh or saltwater.


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## JimG

On Saturday morning I saw a dead one floating in South Shore Harbour... I though it was a pompano, but wasn't sure until I saw the pic above.


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## shadslinger

Used to catch them on occasion in the PIN surf around malachite beach, great fighters and better eating than anything that swims.
First ones I took home to clean my usually well behaved cat, that normally stood by the cleaning table to wait for scraps, leaped on the table and dug it's claws in the first one I drug out of the ice. Peeled it off 3 times and then had to put it in the house to clean them.
After we fried one I knew why.


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## NightTrain

We catch 'em by the coolerful in the Mid-atlantic surf.....right at your feet in the wash.They crave sand fleas. Small Gold hooks with red beads.Excellent eatin'!


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## iwanashark

cool! i guess ya'll catch those as often as we catch croaker. sand fleas huh? can you post a pick of this hook/bead? i might want one in the tackle box.


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## REELING 65

*Pompano*

*I have not caught any here in Texas yet.They are more abundant to the south and Florida. I have heard though as In the pic's that offshore east Texas*.* In Florida they have more of a silvery tone to them.Bigger two.Great tasting fish that is a given.* :cheers:


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## bbgarcia

The last few years I've caught 1 or 2 almost each trip at the Surfside Jetty on either dead or live shrimp. I caught 2 one day during the Summer while throwing a silver spoon for trout. Great fight & good filets.


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## Cody C

I dive the port a jetties quite often during the summer. I've never seen a pompano there. i know people catch them in the surf from time to time.

Now i have seen some palometa (sp). it looks like a pompano but it has long, black sickles.










Shrimp in the surf is the only thing i've heard of them caught on. I know crabs are the bait of choice in FL.

Good luck


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## Fishin' Soldier

Cody C said:


> I dive the port a jetties quite often during the summer. I've never seen a pompano there. i know people catch them in the surf from time to time.
> 
> Now i have seen some palometa (sp). it looks like a pompano but it has long, black sickles.
> 
> Shrimp in the surf is the only thing i've heard of them caught on. I know crabs are the bait of choice in FL.
> 
> Good luck


You probably dive during the summer and the pomps are prevalent during the winter.


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## Cody C

Fishin' Soldier said:


> You probably dive during the summer and the pomps are prevalent during the winter.


True, sorry didn't mention that. I was just noting that it was weird that I haven't seen one diving but have seen a palometa and I have never heard anyone catching one of them. I know people catch them during the summer and there are some still around.

I would like to get into a good pompano bite! I was watching the saltwater experience today and watching them slam pompano on a deep wreck. Pretty sweet!


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## waderdude832

must be pretty sweet diving jeties. i bet u see alot of cool things huh?


Cody C said:


> I dive the port a jetties quite often during the summer. I've never seen a pompano there. i know people catch them in the surf from time to time.
> 
> Now i have seen some palometa (sp). it looks like a pompano but it has long, black sickles.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Shrimp in the surf is the only thing i've heard of them caught on. I know crabs are the bait of choice in FL.
> 
> Good luck


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## Fishin' Soldier

I have caught a few small one by accident. I am sure you can catch them year around if you specifically target them and now a bunch about their habits. Maybe they shy away from the rocks for some reason. They sure make good shark bait too!


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## Cody C

waderdude832 said:


> must be pretty sweet diving jeties. i bet u see alot of cool things huh?


Oh Yea! When I was in HS. A buddy and I each had aquariums and we took care of the aquariums at UTMSI. One day, we went and caught some fish and had about $1200 worth of fish if were to buy them at a fish store, in a bait bucket!

Several wrecks, bunch of fishing tackle, snook, tarpon, grouper, (bunch of fish most people don't realize are there) Its pretty cool. Oh and the coral and sponges are pretty cool too! makes the jetties look exotic!

Now to keep this post relevant, I may have to try and catch a pompano during the winter:dance:


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## pintail74

There are more here than people realize. They just aren't targeted here in Texas for some reason. Used to catch alot in the surf when I was younger. Don't mess with surf much anymore. Small baits are the key. As has been said, small sand fleas, small dead shrimp, etc. Fall through spring. They're around in the summer, but there are too many trash fish to deal with when it's warm, you'll spend all day fighting whiting and hardheads to get two pompano.


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## capt_j_hook

I caught a Nice Pompano Last Summer @Horrace Caldwell Pier in Port A. Some other anglers also caught some! I dont know about the Jetties though....


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## aggiemulletboy

Caught em a lot in the surf on folletts and the ss jetties in the late spring/early summer. Live shrimp freelined or with a few shot. East of us they use mole crabs as bait. You can catch em the same way you catch ghost shrimp.


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## REELING 65

*Pompano*

They sure are tasty. Fried in butter with a light coating of breadcrumbs.
Some fresh garlic,fresh lemon juice. Broiled with cajun seasoning,in pure butter w sliced lemon. Served with a Icy cold Land Shark:cheers:


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## IsleSurfChunker

I know that GULP! makes a couple of 'flavors' of small sand fleas for the North Carolina market. I have not seen them here though. If you don't catch your own order some on-line. They are excellent bait for Pompano as someone stated earlier. I have only caught Pompano from the beachfront in late winter through the spring. I don't believe I have caught any during the heat of summer, though I never targeted them at that time.


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## Bonito

My Brother in Pensacola uses them also. He uses real Sand Fleas and the Gulp and a shrimp coctail he makes himself. Says he's caught a few Pomps on the Gulps.


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## KIKO

I catch'em at the SPI jettie on the smalles spoon I can find. I think is was *Johnson Sprite Spoon* 1/4 oz with e red skirt on the hook. I would catch pompano a mangrove snaper all day on that spoon.


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## LongTallTexan

I'm kinda curious about the setup you would use for Pomps. Sounds like they would be a blast on light tackle.


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## KIKO

*light tackle*

I use a 200 spin shimano reel with an ugly stick light rod about 5 ft. long 8-10 # line. They put a bend on that rod.



LongTallTexan said:


> I'm kinda curious about the setup you would use for Pomps. Sounds like they would be a blast on light tackle.


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## coogerpop

iwanashark said:


> I read an article that was telling me in colder months to target pompano in pretty any texas coast waters, to use fresh dead shrimp in the surf guts. I've fished with dead shrimp on the coast all my life from freeport to high I and never caught one. So I knew they weren't as abundant around here but pondered how many others have caught them.
> 
> did yall eat them? how were they?


 I was born and raised in Brownsville,grew up fishing the surf on SPI and Boca Chica beach...don't remember for sure what time of year it was but we use to catch a number of them in the surf on dead shrimp....they were great broiled....


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## JohnHumbert

*Permit vs. Palmettos*



Cody C said:


> I dive the port a jetties quite often during the summer. I've never seen a pompano there. i know people catch them in the surf from time to time.
> 
> Now i have seen some palometa (sp). it looks like a pompano but it has long, black sickles.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Shrimp in the surf is the only thing i've heard of them caught on. I know crabs are the bait of choice in FL.
> 
> Good luck


palometa are really more like Permit than pompano - although all three species are very very close to each other.

Never eaten a Permit, and I've always wondered if they are as tasty as pompano?

Down in Mexico, while permit fishing, we often catch "baby" permit that are in reality palometa . Their fins are longer than a permit - but the above drawing has them exaggerated more than most real fish I've seen.

It's sometimes very hard to tell the difference between the three species.

The permit top fin tends to come off at more of an angle than the palometa - which most of the time is a smooth continuation of the top body of the fish.

Fin length is misleading because small permit have longer fins in proportion to their bodies - more like palometa .

Pompano have smaller fins like permit, but have the smooth body-to-fin transition that palometa have.

But again, sometimes it's really, really hard to tell them apart. Best way is usually size and location. If they are bigger than a pound or two, they are probably permit. If you are catching them in cool or cold water, they're probably pompano.

Pompano and palometa tends to stay over sand, shallow, and close to shore. If you are off the beach in deep water - especially over structure - they are likely permit.

I have seen schools of permit around rigs or bottom structure offshore in Texas (in the warm months) and saw folks catching and keeping them, thinking they were pompano.

Never seen a pompano more than 3 or 4 miles off the beach, or in water deeper than 30-40 ft. Palmettos and Permit mostly on the "reefs".

The only SURE way is to look at the tongue. Pompano have smooth tongues, while Permit have rough tongues.

There is a debate with my buddies on what kind of tongue a palometa has - but I think they are rough like a permit. Palometa are supposed to always have the 4 bars, but that is not true all the time.

But who knows - ain't no fences out there.


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## smit

I've fished the upper Texas coast (mainly Sargent and Matagorda) for years and have never caught any. A few years back I was wading the surf on SPI and caught a few pompano along with a few palmetto. I was fishing with light tackle, live shrimp on the bottom. I think it was around March. Originally had no idea what they were until a local told me in exchange for all the skip jack a was throwing back.

Cooked them on the grill. They were excellent. I scored them and marinated them in olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic, cilantro, and some Tony's. They are a fun fish to catch.


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## REELING 65

smit said:


> I've fished the upper Texas coast (mainly Sargent and Matagorda) for years and have never caught any. A few years back I was wading the surf on SPI and caught a few pompano along with a few palmetto. I was fishing with light tackle, live shrimp on the bottom. I think it was around March. Originally had no idea what they were until a local told me in exchange for all the skip jack a was throwing back.
> 
> Cooked them on the grill. They were excellent. I scored them and marinated them in olive oil, lemon juice, fresh garlic, cilantro, and some Tony's. They are a fun fish to catch.


Yeah Pompano are delicious.


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## SaltwaterSoul1247

*How about this for a stringer of Pompano?*

Caught these Pompano in 1 1/2hr. Caught more but didn't want to clean that many fish.


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## El Capitan de No Fish

garybryan said:


> Ate them once in florida but I don't keep them here. They were tasty in that resturant


Why wouldn't you keep them in TX?


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## SaltwaterSoul1247

El Capitan de No Fish said:


> Why wouldn't you keep them in TX?


I did and they were awesome on the grill!!!!


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## bluewaterrip

I caught 10 on the rock groin in front of Rain Forrest Cafe on Tuesday. Dead shrimp fished on the bottom. My 5 year old landed his first smack all by himself almost pulled him off the jetties. One more granit rock and he would have been wet. I finally mangaged to pull him back up and he the first words out of his mouth was wheres my fish. Great day.


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