Surf and beaches

Pompano

Trachinotus carolinus

The best eating fish on the beach, found where the sand fleas are.

What they like

  • 0.6–3 musual depth (they tolerate 0.3–12 m)
  • 18–28 °Cwater temperature they feed in
  • clear or coloured waterwater clarity
  • sloping edges, the shoreline, shallow flatsbottom they hunt, in order
  • the incoming (rising) tidetide
  • daylightlight

The beach trough and the sandbar edges on a rising tide in spring and autumn; skipping across the surface behind a boat on the flats.

Season by region

Peak months, shaded. Outside them the species may still be around, just less reliably.

Florida and the Gulf
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Georgia to the Chesapeake
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Bait and technique

Methods: bait, spinning / casting.

Bait and lures: Sand fleas (mole crabs), clam, shrimp; small pink and yellow jigs hopped on the bottom.

Technique: Surf rod with a pompano rig in the trough; from a kayak, hop a small jig over the sand edges of channels.

Rules

Florida: Florida: 11 in fork length minimum, 6 per day. Verify with FWC.

Seasons, sizes and bag limits change every year and differ by zone. Check the current regulations before you keep anything.

Depth maps where pompano live

Preferences are expert estimates from the fisheries literature and angling practice, not measurements at your spot. The likelihoods on the maps are a planning aid, not a catch prediction.