Trachinotus carolinus
Excellent eating fish found in surf. Silver body with yellow fins.
Fall through spring on Gulf beaches. Follow mullet runs in fall for predictable feeding.
Sand fleas (best bait), small jigs 1/4oz tipped with shrimp, pompano rigs in the surf.
11" minimum, 6 fish/day.
Fish the first trough behind breaking waves. Sand fleas dug from the beach edge are the #1 bait.
Curated picks for Florida Pompano fishing in Florida
Small bucktail or teaser jig — the classic Florida beach pompano rig.
Hop it along the bottom in the surf trough and pompano will find it.
Synthetic strip bait that stays on the hook in heavy surf — pompano love it.
Stays on the hook where sand fleas fall off; works day and night in the surf.
Mesh-basket rake for digging live sand fleas (mole crabs) from the surf line.
Fresh-dug sand fleas are the #1 natural pompano bait — worth 10 minutes of effort.
Medium-light surf rod with the sensitivity to detect pompano's subtle bites.
Pompano bites are soft — a sensitive surf rod doubles your hookup rate.
12 spots tracked — click any for tides, weather & local tips
