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Are pompano common on Louisiana and Mississippi shores?
Posted on 9/18/16 at 3:47 pm
Posted on 9/18/16 at 3:47 pm
If so, what is the best time of the year for them?
9
Posted on 9/18/16 at 3:57 pm to cypressbrake3
Many years ago charter captains would pay for their boats catching pompano out of Empire in the early spring. Not doing charters but fishing for pomps to sell on the market for a dollar a pound. 
Posted on 9/18/16 at 4:27 pm to cypressbrake3
We caught some last year, tossed them back thinking they were too small. Seems they don't grow to be large.
Posted on 9/18/16 at 6:19 pm to cypressbrake3
When I was in High School in the 1980s we used to go to Destin for Spring Break. Everyone wanted to go drink beer and chase girls. I kept my powder dry and got up early and wore the Pompano out. It would be like the second week of March. That's my only experience with them.
Posted on 9/18/16 at 6:25 pm to No Colors
They stack up in East bay south of Venice every spring around the well heads in 20-40' of water.
Posted on 9/18/16 at 7:59 pm to cypressbrake3
quote:
Are pompano common on Louisiana and Mississippi shores
Nope, never...don't even waste your time looking for them!!!!
Posted on 9/18/16 at 8:02 pm to cypressbrake3
They migrate through the barrier islands in ma yearly. It's usually spring, early summer. Some people tie jigs specifically for them. I've never targeted or caught them.
Posted on 9/18/16 at 8:05 pm to stoms
The 80s was certainly they hay day put of empire
They still come and go.......the person I knew and caught them with has been dead 25 years. But early spring and summer we hammered out of empire
He sold them
They still come and go.......the person I knew and caught them with has been dead 25 years. But early spring and summer we hammered out of empire
He sold them
Posted on 9/18/16 at 8:08 pm to cypressbrake3
They are out west of the river right now. Live shrimp
Posted on 9/18/16 at 8:22 pm to Manchac Man
I have always caught a few in the spring and in the fall in the Venice area. Generally speaking I have done better in the fall for them. However I have never "fished" for pompano they were just something we caught when fishing for other stuff.
Posted on 9/18/16 at 8:42 pm to cypressbrake3
I caught one at the fouchon barges before
Posted on 9/18/16 at 9:05 pm to cypressbrake3
I caught one south of Timbalier in May.
Posted on 9/18/16 at 10:02 pm to cypressbrake3
Use to fish them every spring in Venice. We used shad rigs with the skirt cut short and tipped with a small piece of squid. When they're on, it's a blast on light tackle. Though care should be taken to avoid keeping more than a reasonable number of fish. Conditions just right, it's not unthinkable to be able to catch 200-500 in a 4 man boat in a short amount of time. There's no limit unless something changed since I fished them last which was just short of 2012 if I remember right. Just because the State lacks a regulation, it shouldn't be a green light to gluttony. In my opinion, it's just like Mangroves. If you know what you're doing, catching a limit can be pretty common but if you want to enjoy the sport for years to come, taking 40, 50, 60 every time you go to your favorite rig/s is an enormous amount of fish and unsustainable in the long term.
Sorry to derail, I've just gotten more aware of how careless I used to be with the number of fish I kept.
Sorry to derail, I've just gotten more aware of how careless I used to be with the number of fish I kept.
This post was edited on 9/18/16 at 10:04 pm
Posted on 9/18/16 at 10:23 pm to Canard Noir
Canard noir everyone I caught in the 80s was eaten
Posted on 9/18/16 at 10:54 pm to Canard Noir
quote:
In my opinion, it's just like Mangroves. If you know what you're doing, catching a limit can be pretty common
You must know something that most people don't!
I think consistently catching 3-4 man limits of mangroves is pretty impressive and rare. I've only been fishing here a few years but it seems like most people struggle to catch them. We use small circle hooks, flourocarbon leaders, free lined croakers, etc and average about 25 mangroves for four people. We have one 4 man limit over about 15 trips.
Posted on 9/19/16 at 12:32 am to voros79
Voros, I like to think I've got Mangroves figured out. I've been fishing them for about 25 years now. I started fishing them in Bay Marchand on live croakers only, learned enough to catch them on chum/ Pogies but that area started to get overfished so I moved permanently towards Venice and never looked back. There's just way more fish near shore there than GI/ Fourchon and fewer people fishing them. I moved to Houston several years ago and don't fish near as often as I did but I know things have changed since then. Had a real nice trip in June of this year though. The point of mentioning Mangroves in my post was that I know how pressured they've gotten and how much fish 10 Mangroves per person really is. Bay Marchand is a shadow of it's former self in terms of Mangrove numbers so it's not a surprise that catch rates have shrunk significantly. Quite likely you have them as dialed in as I think I do, there's just fewer fish available to catch because 10/ person is unsustainable when you consider how much pressure they have due to the situation with Red Snapper, Groupers, Triggerfish, and AJ's.
My biggest tip to catching Mangroves consistently is to be aware of your presentation. I chum almost exclusively for them now and if I can't get the current/ wind/ water clarity to work for me while hooked up to a rig, I'll hold the boat with the motors and chum upcurrent or set the anchor upcurrent and chum so my baits are always going towards the structure, not away from it. If you're going to set an anchor multiple times offshore in 50-70' of water, I highly recommend a retrieval ring and buoy system unless you want everyone on the boat to be too sore to jerk off for a week after...
My biggest tip to catching Mangroves consistently is to be aware of your presentation. I chum almost exclusively for them now and if I can't get the current/ wind/ water clarity to work for me while hooked up to a rig, I'll hold the boat with the motors and chum upcurrent or set the anchor upcurrent and chum so my baits are always going towards the structure, not away from it. If you're going to set an anchor multiple times offshore in 50-70' of water, I highly recommend a retrieval ring and buoy system unless you want everyone on the boat to be too sore to jerk off for a week after...
Posted on 9/19/16 at 1:21 am to choupiquesushi
Choupique, that's good to hear. For me though, more fish than I'd like to admit never made it to a plate. I never wantonly wasted anything but I defrosted and forgot, lost a freezer for various reasons, whatever. My only point is that there are some bad creel regulations in LA and I, myself, am trying to be a bit more practical going forward so maybe the next generation can enjoy some of what I did. Stricter regulations on popular fish have shifted focus to lesser known fisheries so I try to encourage others to keep what they can eat and not pretend that there's good science behind any of our State's creel limits, particularly with reef fish.
Good night, back to the thread. Pompano are in LA waters in huge numbers in the spring and early summer. They're delicious but I hope that people can use reasonable restraint if they're in the circumstance of "putting the ants on 'em," because neither the State nor the Feds have a fricking clue when it comes to creel limits on offshore/ migratory/ reef fish.
Good night, back to the thread. Pompano are in LA waters in huge numbers in the spring and early summer. They're delicious but I hope that people can use reasonable restraint if they're in the circumstance of "putting the ants on 'em," because neither the State nor the Feds have a fricking clue when it comes to creel limits on offshore/ migratory/ reef fish.
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