Summer is upon us and so are the fish –
Still catching pompano on the beach regularly. Fishbites, pompano jigs, goofy jigs are your sure bait choices. My circle hook rigs – tied in America – work flawlessly. Put your rods in sand spikes, use a sand flea, shrimp or crab scent fishbite – a different scent on each circle hook and a pyramid sinker on the clip and you are set. Cast between the shore and the sandbar.
Rig a pompano jig or a Doc’s Goofy jig tip them with a fishbite and retrieve slowly, bumping along the bottom is the technique.
Quite a few big trout being caught in the surf and the bay. A Mirrolure 52M sinking twitchbait has been a favorite of mine for forty years on the beach. I call it the “stroll and cast” using a steady retrieve with an occasional twitch.
In the bay gator trout are being landed consistently. In plastics, your Trout Trick paired with a Trout Eye jig from Z-Man, DOA shrimp underneath a popping cork, and the new Rapala Coastal Lineup has been quite impressive. Starting with the top water “Skitter V” featuring an exclusive design that radically alters the action of the lure allowing the lure to cut quick with a snap of the rod ending with a soft, long glide on slack line. This a wonderful top water bait for trout and reds. The slow sinking “Twitching Minnow and Mullet” are designed to perform a tight walk-the-dog swimming action. Slow sinking allows a glide and drop technique that lands into pockets where big fish love to ambush their prey.
There is also plenty of tripletail being caught in the bay – A DOA shrimp underneath a cork around the markers and buoys will do the trick. Flounder are showing up in the bay – I like using a small jig with a very light head working it slowly.
If you can get a bait past the snapper there are plenty of grouper being caught. I like to use Shimano flat fall jigs on a small jigging rod which adds a different twist rather than just dropping bait.
We’ll Hook You Up!
Captain Larry Troy
