A Profusion of Pompano

Pompano seem quite rare in Texas, where many anglers actually toss them back, convinced they've caught a small jack. Or discard them on the beach, as Ive seen at San Luis Pass. There are ten species of jack lurking off the Texas coast that Ive run into on occasion, and the pompano is just one. But it just happens to surpass almost all coastal saltwater fish on the dinner table, a real bonus fish. Finding them can be difficult, however.

This all weighed heavy on us in September, when many of these fish began jumping around us in Capt. Curtiss Cash's boat. Id seen a couple of skipper pompano in Florida waters, but a hundred in the air in Texas? It was beyond belief; pompano jumped all around us, thumping off the hull. One smacked the motor, landed in the well, then jumped back out. One flew into the boat and stayed there, and soon found himself in the Igloo. We anchored, whipped out jigs and spoons... our go-to lures for pompano over the years, but it was no dice. In murky water, they just wouldn't hit. Live shrimp would likely have helped, but we seldom drive around with hoppers in the live well, preferring lures or finger mullet instead. (We were looking for tarpon that day). And pompano only eat shellfish, such as small crabs or shrimp, which may account for their great taste. It was frustrating; before we left, perhaps 100 of these fish had jumped around us like invasive carp in the Illinois River, often skipping like flat stones. My camera caught two of them in the air at once.

It was late afternoon, the tide was low and murky and the boys were pooped out and ready for happy hour, so we left. But next morning it was payback time: We returned with a (rather paltry) pint of shrimp, knowing an incoming tide would clear the surf, and so it was. In green water more pompano skipped around the boat, and we dropped anchor in four feet of water. I pulled out a handful of pompano jigs made in Florida and we went to work.

Bruce Churton and I tipped each jig with half or a third of a live shrimp, and were soon bowed up. We called in friends in two other boats who anchored around us, though they took too long to arrive, boating only a half dozen pompano per boat before the tide changed. We had exactly 20 pompano in our boat before the water began to murk up, and lost quite a few more while sitting down, trying to look disinterested to another boat that anchored nearby. (You know the drill when getting potlicked: slumped shoulders, point the rod at each hooked fish, try to land it on the other side of the boat). Shannon Tompkins and Pete Churton merely sat in our boat with cameras, taking hundreds of pictures, and to this day I wonder how many pompano the four of us might have landed with a full quart of shrimp. Some kind of Texas record, perhaps; we might have strung 50 pompano and slung them over someones shoulder like the glory trout stringer days from the 1970s, that guides were so proud of. And yet pompano are so unknown in Texas, there isn't even a daily bag limit on them. In this day and age. Go figure.

And Jebus, these pompano fought hard. Even overmatched against jetty tackle with 20-pound line, some of our bigger fish fought way harder than redfish of comparable size. They are, after all, members of the jack family. If wed had 8-pound spin tackle, wed still be out there trying to land that last fish. We mostly slung the little jigs, hopped across bottom a little faster than hardhead catfish could follow. The 20-pound line served as a leader and insured that occasional big ladyfish wouldn't grab on and shred lighter line with sandpaper lips. We only lost one jig to something toothy, because the rubber lips of pompano are no threat.

Some of our biggest pompano that day even hit jetty bottom rigs with the 2-ounce lead still attached. I merely pinned on a live shrimp and flipped it out there, set the rod in a holder. When the rod tip quivered, I picked it up and set the hook. If wed had Kahle hooks, they'd have set themselves. That's what serious pompano fishermen use while surf fishing, when they set up long rods in PVC pipe sand spikes. Surf guys cant be everywhere at once, so the Kahle sets itself.

But enough about our recent glory day with pompano. Aside from an occasional jetty pomp caught on a green tide, the rest of our pompano catches going back 30 years were all made around Gulf platforms sitting in 40 to 50 feet of water. Best months were May and October. Out there these fish can be spotted and cast to, especially if one climbs a platform, which isn't entirely legal and requires some agility. From a height of 15 feet or more, you can scan the surrounding fish population for tasty pomps, at least on a calm day.

Peering down inside the bigger platforms, Ive seen parading schools of pompano, perhaps 10 to 15 fish, circling flat on their sides like a tripletail will swim. Down there the pomps reflect light back to the surface, very different from viewing the dull, dorsal side of most fish. Drop a small spoon or jig into them, give it a few twitches, and hang on. If a marauding bluefish runs over and grabs the jig, don't set the hook, merely wait for him to drop it, examine the line for toothy damage, and start over. My tackle for this job was always 15-pound line on a Calcutta baitcasting outfit. You have to get mean with these pompano, inside a platform, so I didn't use spin gear. Its tricky, making them tail-walk until tired, then lifting them up 15 feet and landing them onto a narrow steel catwalk, and quickly into a handy bucket. Many times, Ive climbed back down to the boat with three to five of these tasty fish. Offshore, they seem to average bigger than surf pompano.

The years have come and gone, but its easy to remember our first Texas pompano. Or saw people catching them, anyway. It was March Spring Break at Port Aransas, and we'd slept sheltered from a lightning-lit sky at the construction site that became the UT Marine Science Institute, within sight of the jetties. Workers evicted us from our sleeping bags, and we hurried out to the south jetty in perfect, calm spring weather. Where we found a lot of fishermen, going out 100 yards or so on the rocks, tossing live shrimp out on the beach pocket side. Catching baskets of big pompano and sheepshead in the finest lime-green water. Wed never seen a pompano back at our Sabine jetties... a venue we eventually walked and plugged for 15 years. On this day at Aransas, we sadly couldn't afford live shrimp. We were down to one meal a day, what we called back then a Gut-Buster at Dairy Queen. We were a long way from school and Nacogdoches, in my clattering Volkswagen. No credit cards, either.

Aside from Gulf platform pompano, and the occasional jetty fish, most other pompano are caught from clean surf. That's where you pick the right spot... perhaps offering an outgoing rip current that swimmers dread, and set up a few 12-foot surf rods in sand spikes. There are guys on Floridas Atlantic coast who literally make a living doing this. They're dialed in to friends, know the best public beaches, and have a license to sell this expensive fish, whose fillets go for something like $20 a pound. Talk about a care-free life, cruising up and down the coast for several hundred miles, setting up surf rods on a daily basis. Should I wear the flip-flops today? Probably not... These guys rake their own sand fleas, which are small, primitive-looking mole crabs that live in wet sand left by each wave. They're the ultimate pompano bait, averaging perhaps an inch long, perfectly shaped for these fish to wrap their lips around. (I'm not sure about the status of sand fleas on Texas beaches, but I hear they're way smaller than those on the East Coast and not as effective as bait). Surf fishing is where that cell phone really helps, when your real friends are hooked up 10 miles up the beach and remember to call you.

For Texas beach fishing around the cleaner surf of Padre Island, I'm sure Billy Sandifer could point out some proper tactics for pompano.

The cooler waters of November still carry pompano, whether just offshore or along the coast, even the bigger fish approaching six pounds, which is the Texas state record, if you add a few ounces. By December or later, on balmy winter days, best aim for Padre Island surf. They'll be there waiting... even making a surge when March and Spring Break returns. And if you catch your first, be sure not to fry it. Bake it whole and serve with potatoes au gratin and chilled Pinot Grigio.

Our best pompano picture will be one of those featured in my 2013 calendar, which this year will show anglers and fish. (My current 2012 calendar is fish species close-ups).

If readers are interested in my 2013 calendar, I can be reached at [email protected]. I've also been printing batches of a hundred or more for specific Texas companies, owned by guys who fish the coast, who send them to favorite customers. Gulf Coast Gunnite and GPM Pump and Seal are two companies in the Houston currently using the 2012 calendars. These angler and fish calendars are more presentable at home (where the wife is concerned), compared to some calendars. Or at work, for that matter.