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Pompano Bait/Rig

6K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Reit_Angler 
#1 ·
Anyone have one they like better than the other? Also, best bait when sand fleas aren’t around? I’d like to try for them near Kure Beach this week. Thanks for any advice.
 
#2 ·
I've caught them 90% on basically a fishfinder rig. I use 1oz pyramid sinkers as weight. Size 2 or 4 gold colored hooks on a fluorocarbon leader 8 to 10 inches. For bait I've always had luck getting the freshest shrimp I can find. Take it out of the shell and cut it into pieces. Say 1/2" at the longest. Couldn't stop catching them in Garden City like that. I've also caught a ton of Sea Mullet and Small black drum this way. Mostly Get bit just inside the outer bar or the trough right behind the wash. Most people I've talked to say that you'll catch quantity with baits like shrimp etc but you'll catch your best quality with sand fleas. Fewer bites, bigger fish. Hope this helps. There are much better pomp fishermen on here than I that will probably be able to give better pointers as well. Good luck.
 
#5 ·
I honestly just use an inshore rod and hang on instead of putting it in a spike. I bought a nice St Croix Tidemaster travel rod a few years back to take on my travels with me. I want to say 7.5 feet. It's medium heavy fast and coupled with a penn spinfisher v. It's my favorite rod and reel now for just about everything even if it just a tad much sometimes. I think most medium or medium heavy inshore rods would be perfect.
 
#9 ·
Not a numbers game in NC, at least for the quality fish in my experience. I target them a week or two every year (summer through fall) and usually only manage a handful of citations each week (this is putting in hours of fishing). You will catch plenty of dinks, not to mention so many sea mullet. Not the best fisherman to be sure but when I have fished Fl the difference is night & day...in one week on the east coast of Fl north of Sebastian Inlet in December I managed about 6-8 quality pomps per day, not to mention many smaller.

Fleas, fluoro rig, sharp circles. If bait stealers are bad I go to fishbites. I have concocted all kinds of crazy floats, beads, etc. for my rigs but I doubt it matters that much.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Oh boy! That’s a loaded question which will yield a shotgun blast of answers. I’ll say this, you don’t need a heaver or anything crazy for pomp. A nice bass/walleye fresh water rod or a good inshore or light surf will be perfect. If you have a freshwater rod 6’3”-6’6” ( can work and has for my kids ) run with that for awhile if not, get your meat hooks on a inshore 7’-8’. Still undecided, go for light surf rod. See the pattern here, light gear. No need for big drum and shark stuff with little 1-2-3 lbs pomp.


I know what your next question will be, which mfg and weight...

I myself like Lamiglas, St.Croix, Fenwick, Penn and Daiwa Back Bay ( Med/ Med-Hvy/ Hvy ) . There are so many great rods out there the ones listed above are just the tip of iceberg.
 
#14 ·
I like a 9 ft or so rod that is a 3/4 -2 1/2 oz rod. I find it still does a good job close and you can actually get a little distance if needed. Just got back from 10 days at OBX. Fished from from ramps 25-55.....38 was by far the best for me. I'll say this though. If fishing sucked this bad in the 70's when I started I would have never went back. Old habits and memories die hard I guess. My next trip will be far more streamlined and more about vacation than fishing as I still enjoy the place. I pity those of you that just never had a chance to see what real fishing was...........
 
#17 ·
Here's a quick story on how I got into pomp fishing. I used to be a pier flounder and sheepshead guy, and would also plug for blues and spanish. One day I was plugging at the end of the Jolly Roger in Topsail some years ago and saw another guy hook up on his gotcha with something that had to be big, real big. After a crazy fight on a light plugging rod a 5lb pomp eventually surfaces that had hit the plug, at the end of the pier. They manage to get the fish up over the railing and it is stud. The JR is about 750 feet and this fish was caught at the end...200+ yards off the beach. S Topsail is a relatively flat beach and that opened my eyes up to the need to be able to get your bait out far on flat beaches if you want the big ones. After that I decided I was going to chase big pomps and forget about the dinks that I usually could catch on the pier.

IMO, the serious pomp guys, especially those who fish flat beaches, will always have "long rod" capability. Not every bait goes out that far, but sometimes you need to be able to get it out there. First it was the team alabama 13 foot'er, now the CCP 13 3-6oz is a favorite of many. I use 2 12 footers that throw 4oz well, and then also use several 11 foot carp rods rated 1-3oz. I fish with sputnik/breakaway type sinkers that let me hold in any condition except heavy heavy grass with only a 2-3oz weight. This allows me to keep my rig leader at 25-30lb fluoro. I throw braid mainline (15lb) with 40lb braid shock, then fluoro leader rigs of 25-30lb. I fish multiple rods and would not fish braid around others. But you can get serious distance with braid. Everyone does things differently and there are certainly much better fishermen than me on this board who probably think this approach is ridiculous. But it is what I have found works in producing big ones for me.
 
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