Gulf SP Pier

Paymaster

Old Worn Out Mod
Staff member
My wife and I went to the pier at Gulf State Park to see what was happening yesterday. Not much was biting but this young lady caught a nice Pompano. Here is her and a few more pics.

IMG_3085.JPGIMG_3088.JPGIMG_3090.JPGIMG_3093.JPGIMG_3095.JPG
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
I started getting some cobia reports week before last.
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
Oily?shrimp to catch em?


I like sand fleas when using live bait. That`s what pompano are after when they`re in the surf. Otherwise I use doll flies and bucktail jigs, the brighter and flashier the better.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Never caught or ate a pompano, but I hear that they're one of the better eating fish out there.
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
I need some OJT,????

Get you an old cokoler crate or make you one, put 1/4 inch hardware cloth on the bottom. Take it and your bucket down to the surf, when a wave washes back out, you`ll see little humps that move toward the beach and dissapate as the waves recede. Those are sand fleas trying to get back under the sand. Drop your screen box and scoop up that sand with the humps and drop it in the box, then sift the sand away to get the sandfleas. They`ll be about half as big as your thumb, and all shallow water fish love em.
sandflea box.jpg
 

Rabun

Senior Member
Nice flea catcher there Nic...i've always used those rakes. I like yours cause you could get a couple people gathering material while one is sifting. Early spring I really have to work hard for a few fleas it seems.

If I'm not catching fleas, I've been using a piece of fresh shrimp and a strip of orange/red sand flea fish bite and just hurl it out there and let it soak.
 

fairweather

Senior Member
From the original picture, it looks like it was caught on fishbites. Excellent eating. White, flaky meat, not oily at all.
 

Cmp1

BANNED
Get you an old cokoler crate or make you one, put 1/4 inch hardware cloth on the bottom. Take it and your bucket down to the surf, when a wave washes back out, you`ll see little humps that move toward the beach and dissapate as the waves recede. Those are sand fleas trying to get back under the sand. Drop your screen box and scoop up that sand with the humps and drop it in the box, then sift the sand away to get the sandfleas. They`ll be about half as big as your thumb, and all shallow water fish love em.
View attachment 962827
Interesting,,,,
 

Pointpuller

Senior Member
Pompano are fun to catch. Sight fishing them with jigs is a blast. As for eating........they are decent to good but no where near what their reputation holds for them as table fair. The reason they have been marketed so well is they have terrific yields due to there little bitty head so the commercial folks love them. Don't get me wrong. They eat decent but nothing compared to flounder, grouper, dolphin or snapper in my book.
 

Rabun

Senior Member
Pompano are fun to catch. Sight fishing them with jigs is a blast. As for eating........they are decent to good but no where near what their reputation holds for them as table fair. The reason they have been marketed so well is they have terrific yields due to there little bitty head so the commercial folks love them. Don't get me wrong. They eat decent but nothing compared to flounder, grouper, dolphin or snapper in my book.

I tend to agree with you. I do like them fresh under the broiler with lemon and butter though. They don't hold well frozen to me...they get a bit rubbery. But they are a blast to catch...they're jacks after all and I love fishing for them.
 
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