# Some huge pompano in Ocracoke it seems - anywhere else?



## hawkman (Jun 16, 2014)

On the 'Tradewinds Tackle' (Ocracoke) Facebook page this past week, I saw a photo of both a 3+ and 4+ lb pompano there. Should the pompano be just as well caught Atlantic Beach or is it the northern beaches that fare well for these awesome beasts?


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## HStew (Jan 8, 2009)

biggest i ever caught atlantic beach was 2 lb.


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## levellinebrad (May 27, 2015)

I hope they come back. I've caught one 12" shark all day.


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## bronzbck1 (Jun 13, 2007)

The bigger pomps are usually ahead of the schooling pomps but there should still be plenty of the big ones around


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

levellinebrad said:


> I hope they come back. I've caught one 12" shark all day.


what kind of rig are you using and what kind of bait


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## levellinebrad (May 27, 2015)

I'm using a river rig with the translucent beads, I switched to some of my double drop rigs. Used fleas, shrimp, cut bait, blood worms. I caught the little shark on cut bait with a small piece of blood worm. Three rods out covering from 15', to about 120 yds. I talked to a few people along the beach and it didn't seem that anyone was pulling anything today. I also tried different sized hooks. It was a fairly calm ocean today. I still had a great time.


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## kbueno1 (Jun 3, 2015)

I would not characterize these as huge, but I plugged a few nice pomps in Topsail in mid-May while everyone else around me was catching blues.

KBueno


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## hawkman (Jun 16, 2014)

kbueno1 said:


> I would not characterize these as huge


Since most Florida pompano are below 3 lbs, and I don't hear about them being large than that very often, plus the fact that I can rarely catch once, I'd classify a 4.25 pounder as huge.


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## kbueno1 (Jun 3, 2015)

Hawkman - I meant mine were not huge. I'd love to have caught either of the fish in the pics in your original post!

KBueno


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

My Wife and I caught these two last Friday on Hatteras Island plus had one a little bit smaller, mine was 2 pounds 1oz and hers was 3 pound 9 oz


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Great job!!!


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## River (Sep 30, 2006)

Nice Surfshunker .... you both got a citation . .... congradulations


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

mine lost a couple ounces after being in the cooler for 6 hours and then still weigh 1.96 pounds, no paper for me but I knew it was, but I wasn't leaving that spot to go weigh it in


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

big ones (2-5lbs) like that are around all summer all along the nc coast, if you start specifically targeting them you will get 'em. clear water, sand fleas, and the right cast and tackle...


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## hawkman (Jun 16, 2014)

kbueno1 said:


> Hawkman - I meant mine were not huge. I'd love to have caught either of the fish in the pics in your original post!


Ha! I get it! I think I just thought your pic was part of a 'signature' and not related to the post. 

So you and I both would love to catch some big'uns. Heck, I'll take a cooler full of what you have!

hawkman


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## hawkman (Jun 16, 2014)

surfchunker said:


> My Wife and I caught these two last Friday on Hatteras Island plus had one a little bit smaller, mine was 2 pounds 1oz and hers was 3 pound 9 oz.










Beautiful fish. Congratulations. It will drive me crazy - not catching these things!

I took my 8-yr old son to Hatteras last weekend to try for some pompano. I was hearing ramps 43/44 were good. I have 2-wheel drive. Hatteras NPS campground was flooded so we camped at Frisco. Only one beach access was open at the park. We had to wade for a 100 yards or more on the boardwalk to get to the dunes. No luck that evening. Went to 43/44 in the morning but they were flooded. Drove to the old lighthouse site, but it was too rough (steep beach) for me to fish and watch out for my son. Drove up to Ramp 27 (?) and fished and fished and fished. Nada. Zilch.

Emerald Isle yesterday - whiting on shrimp and a couple small flounder on minnows.

Would you mind offering up any details on how you targeted these fish? Were they cruising the wash, inside the near bar or out a farther bar? I spend my time mostly in the wash, breakers, and maybe to the inside of a bar on a rising tide. There were no apparent breaks in the bar at EI yesterday. Very calm and small waves, too.


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## tjbjornsen (Oct 31, 2009)

Hawkman,
Next time you go down and need to walk over, try parking at the old Frisco Pier, and walking onto the beach there. 
Just North and South of the Pier has always been a good spot for Pomps, and it is easy access.
And there are a couple of fantastic posts in the Bible that will give you as much information as you could possibly absorb about Catching Pomps, go check them out...
Good Luck,
TjB




hawkman said:


> View attachment 19841
> 
> Beautiful fish. Congratulations. It will drive me crazy - not catching these things!
> 
> ...


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

hawkman pomp fishing is an addiction that is hard to break, think twice before you get started. them things fight like mad and taste so good on the grill though. biggest i caught was almost 4.5 lbs, still trying to break the 5lb barrier. you ask 5 questions about how to catch pomps you will get 500 different answers. the general trend that emerges is that you must have the following:

1. a magic bait: everyone has their magic bait that will outfish everyone else's magic bait. my magic bait is live sand fleas and i will never fish anything else. other people that can outfish me will claim clams (sometimes even tied together with thread to make it more durable), fishbites, etc as their magic bait. you can never go wrong with fleas IMO, that bait will stand up to the next item on the list:
2. a magic cast: this could be 120yds off the beach or 12yds off the beach. on flat beaches it pays to be able to sling it. most of the die harders have the skills/tackle to get it out there as it can be necessary for the big uns.
3. a magic rig: river, FM, earl brinn, double drop, single drop, you name it. everyone swears by their rig and the drop length. some have magical beads, some have magical floats. pink mono vs. pink fluoro vs. clear fluoro. plain sinker vs. painted sinker. sputnik vs. frog tongue. magic hooks - circle or kahle? mutu light or eagle claw L197? #4 vs. 2/0? 

that should be crystal clear. hope you like whiting b/c you will catch 10 citation whiting (they love large sand fleas) for every 1 citation pomp.


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## tjbjornsen (Oct 31, 2009)

"hope you like whiting b/c you will catch 10 citation whiting (they love large sand fleas) for every 1 citation pomp. "

THAT Is the truth right there! ;-)

...Along with everything else Greg says.


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## tjbjornsen (Oct 31, 2009)

Here is a great thread that is in The Bible on the main page;

http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?48678-Catching-pompano

A Ton of great info to be had.

Also check out the River Rig thread there. 
Lots of humor, lots of bull$#*t, but also a ton of great information that applies to Pomp Fishing from a lot of guys that know their stuff.
TjB


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## hawkman (Jun 16, 2014)

@tjbjornsen - Thanks!


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