# Rods for Florida Pompano?



## csurp (Dec 12, 2010)

I have been viewing the forum for about a month now and am really enjoying the posts and high level of expertise present here.

I go down to Vero Beach Florida for a month during Jan or Feb and surf fish at South Beach nearly every day with occasional trips to the Sebastian, Round Island, Cocoanut Point, and Fort Pierce beaches.

My current spinning rigs are a Tica SH7000 and a Mitchell 7500 Full-Runner on very cheap Shakespeare 12-ft rods from the “Mart”. These are large and heavy reels. I have been using 12-lb Trilene Big Game for the running lines with 30-lb shock tippets, 3 to 5 turns around the reel spools.

With information from here I am also in the process of building an Abu 6500 CT from an Abu 6500 C4 that I have on the shelf. Will also try the frame and bearings I am buying on an Abu 6500 C3 that I also have. Frame and bearings are on order from Castaway Lakes.

The spinning rods are shot and I would like to replace them with two in the $100 range, a little more is OK. I primarily will be pompano rig fishing with 2-4 oz weights in fairly heavy surf at times. Long rods are popular there with some fishermen using up to 15-feet. I suppose the long rods allow the line to run clear of the close wave crests and limit the amount of seaweed that accumulates.

I also will need to order a casting rod to use with the new CT.

So I am open to suggestions for a relatively matched set of three 2-6 oz long rods, two spinning and one conventional to use for pompano fishing with weights from 2-4 oz.

Thank you


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

I would check these out for your casting setup.

http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?t=74778&highlight=team+alabama


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## abass105 (Jun 13, 2006)

I second the Team Alabama rod. You won't be sorry. Now with a lifetime guarantee.:fishing:


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## smacks fanatic (Oct 16, 2010)

you can find rods for 49 cents on ebay that would originally be 100$. i personally like 12 foot surf rods with 15 pound mono for pompano. this time of year they will be past the second bar, with a few inside of the bar. sometimes the only way to get them is wade out to the first bar and launch a heckuva cast. 4 oz of weight and up will be necessary because the rig will be out far. dont fight them with the drag turned all the way up. only take what they give you and let them run a bit. i have lost many a fish due to overtightend drags because the small hook(1/0-2/0) pulled out. best bait is live and dead sand-fleas which should de plentiful in the sand. check out a guy named larry "fishman" finch. his website is www.larrythefishman.com. give him a call and he can give you a bunch more advice than i can. have some fun out there.


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## fish bucket (Dec 5, 2002)

why do you want 3 pompano outfits?
my suggestion would be to get rid of the old spinners and get i nice outfit.
something like a tica scepter with 20# braid and a mid level 12-13' rod rated 2-5oz.
for 3 bills you can put together a sweet pompano outfit.
do a search of these forums and you will get all the info you need


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

You don't have to spend top dollar to catch pompano. You need 2 kinds of rods. 7-9 footers to work in close, preferably with a light tip like Steelhead or Ugly Stick Downrigger rods. Rating isn't that big of a deal as you'll just toss them >30 yards. Then you want a long range rod if the fish aren't in close. You still need a fairy light rod to see the bite, but if you fish the sputnik sinker/circle hook rig you won't have a problem. It doesn't have to be a $$$ rod. But get quality if that's what you want. 

Some common ones that come up are the lite 10' OM, the lite 12' OM (though I think it's a bit heavy for whiting and pompano), Cabela's Predator rod, the Ugly Stick Downrigger rods, and any number of Steelhead rods. I've found that the lighter you go when fishing fleas for pomps you catch more fish. Don't ask me why. That goes for leader material, main line, and rods.


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## The Crew (Jul 8, 2007)

Soft Tip, Soft Tip, Soft Tip on the rods. Gotta have it for Pompano. Soft mouths and tenacious fight. You don't want them pulling the hook. 

Smoothlures has it right. You don't need top dollar. You do need to work a rod in close and a rod out long. I would recommend a rod of 13', fast action, casts 4oz.

Recommend #1 Circle hooks. Also recommend hi-vis line, especially if you are going to put the rod in a spike. Pomps like to hit and head for the beach. You won't see the rod bend the line will go slack. Hi-vis helps you to see that quicker. I've missed plenty of Pomps because I didn't see the line go slack.

Good luck!


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

The Crew said:


> Soft Tip, Soft Tip, Soft Tip on the rods. Gotta have it for Pompano. Soft mouths and tenacious fight. You don't want them pulling the hook.
> 
> Smoothlures has it right. You don't need top dollar. You do need to work a rod in close and a rod out long. I would recommend a rod of 13', fast action, casts 4oz.
> 
> ...


Use sputnik sinkers! Especially on the long range rods. They'll set themselves with circles no matter which way they come at you with a 3+ oz. But high vis line is never bad, I would certainly use a long rig or a shot of clear mono on top though. Just personal preference.


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## fishingman88 (Apr 23, 2008)

Gonna agree that you should probably look at 1 great setup or 2 good setups. For the conventional rod, gotta agree with a Team Alabama Rod. For spinning, try out a Tica or Tsunami rod. If you have a Bass Pro near you, then get a feel for one.


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## seajay (Dec 18, 2005)

If you can find one this is a great beach rod. And a 6500 CT works great on it.
Try the Diawa Sealine Surf Mod#SL-SA 1002MHRB A great light rod that will toss up to 4oz. easily. 
Also the Okuma Solaris Surf rods work great. The 12' is more of a big fish rod,for Reds and Black Drum.
These will more than cover your needs for Whiting,Pompano,and Reds.


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## csurp (Dec 12, 2010)

narfpoit said:


> I would check these out for your casting setup.
> 
> http://www.pierandsurf.com/fishing-forum/showthread.php?t=74778&highlight=team+alabama


Thanks for all the help, guys. You definitely have me rethinking my plan, especially having three dedicated long rod rigs. This after all about having fun and not hauling everything I own out on the beach.

I was down at around Thanksgiving for a couple of weeks and only brought two rods to the beach, one of the 12-foot spinners and a 7-foot one piece spinning rod with a 2500 series Daiwa/10 lb PP that I use for bass fishing trick worms and such.

I had the 7-foot rod set up with a 1-oz Carolina rig with a 3-foot 30 lb leader and a Clark's spoon for the occasional jumps that were happening and caught several Spanish, bluefish, and lady fish. After seeing what you guys wrote, I should have set it out at short range with bait. I think my Daiwa 2500 was at least one size too small for this work.

I went to the Fishing Flea website yesterday and looked at the 13-footer and read the reviews there. It looks like one sweet rod. The rod is promoted as having a multi-purpose guide set up for use with both spinning or conventional reels. My thought was this may be too much of a compromise. Do you think it will work well with spinning as well as conventional


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## Beachboy (Feb 18, 2009)

They work great with spinners if you are using braided line. They are fine with mono on conventional reels.


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## DrumintheSuds (Nov 19, 2007)

I began to take light action fishing serious about 5 years ago when I had an old salt school me and "teach me" the ART of flea fishing. I got tired of opening his cooler and seeing big pompano, big black drum and big sea mullet stacked like cord wood so I started askin questions over cold beers (lol).

I changed EVERYTHING about my fishing techniques and setup from rods to rigs and hooks and how and where I fished.

I started off with 9' Ugly Stick downrigger rods but have since switched to Fenwick HMX Steelhead rods 9'-6". I own about 5 and they are flea fishing machines. I also own a couple of Cabelas Predator rods for when I need to throw more than 3oz to the backside of the bar.


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## greg12345 (Jan 8, 2007)

Light carp rods...I have 3 cabelas predator rods, they only sell the 2.25 test-curve model which is 11ft and will handle up to 4-5 oz no problem, guides are small enough to use with a conventional reel as well...69 bucks, occassionally go on sale for 59...best $59 rod I ever bought...can really get it out there when you need distance. Closer in I like high-modulus steelhead rods.

I'm no pro but why do you need more than 10lb test when pomp fishing from an open beach? Just set the drag appropriately. Have landed 5lb pomps on 8lb test no problem, takes a while to get it in and the fish is spent/exhausted but the only place it is being released is into my oven. Unless it is just insurance for a red or black drum that eats the sand flea...I keep lines, leaders as light as possible and minimize terminal tackle as much as possible...those things have great eyesight.


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## seajay (Dec 18, 2005)

> Do you think it will work well with spinning as well as conventional


Never used one but Greg and Druminthesuds offered a great choice. There are several Pomp Heads around here that use the same set-ups And remember go light as you can on your rigs. Now there is a fellow on here goes by DVO ask him what he uses.


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## red_fish (Jul 22, 2007)

rs1385 the only way to go google them


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

seajay said:


> Never used one but Greg and Druminthesuds offered a great choice. There are several Pomp Heads around here that use the same set-ups And remember go light as you can on your rigs. Now there is a fellow on here goes by DVO ask him what he uses.


DVO knows his stuff.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

csurp said:


> Thanks for all the help, guys. You definitely have me rethinking my plan, especially having three dedicated long rod rigs. This after all about having fun and not hauling everything I own out on the beach.
> 
> I was down at around Thanksgiving for a couple of weeks and only brought two rods to the beach, one of the 12-foot spinners and a 7-foot one piece spinning rod with a 2500 series Daiwa/10 lb PP that I use for bass fishing trick worms and such.
> 
> ...


I use mine for conventional. I know some have used it spinning and say it works fine but I think the first guide sits to low to the blank to prevent line slap if you were to use a big spinning reel. It is however, perfectly suited to a conventional reel. If I really needed to use it for a spinning rod then I would switch that first guide with a fuji TLCSG16m you may need to change the second guide as well so that the guides line up. Anyway I would just use it for conventional and then get a 9-10' salmon rod set up for spinning with a 3500 size daiwa reel. That would be great for throwing spoons to spanish and blues too.


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## csurp (Dec 12, 2010)

*Thanks guys*

I ordered the TA-13-ft yesterday and cant wait to take it out to the local HS soccer field for a little casting practice with the 6500C (currently with level wind slider and pawl removed). The parts for the CT frame conversion and upgraded bearings have yet to arrive.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

csurp said:


> I ordered the TA-13-ft yesterday and cant wait to take it out to the local HS soccer field for a little casting practice with the 6500C (currently with level wind slider and pawl removed). The parts for the CT frame conversion and upgraded bearings have yet to arrive.


just make sure you have plenty of space. The first time I threw mine it well exceeded my expectations.


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## berlix (Sep 7, 2009)

I fish (and catch) pompano on the exact beaches you are fishing.

I use a 6500.

I use 13' rods, AFAW surf and Cast Pro. It was worth it to me to spend the extra bucks for these rods because I plan to keep them for a long time, I only fish once a week or so, the extra enjoyment I get out of fishing a sweet rod and reel combo makes it worth it to me. (just my opinion)

I use Hi vis line but for the purpose only of making it more visable for the birds working the waterline. Even with the hi vis, I end up having a sea gull or pelican fly into the line once in a while. 

Good luck with your decision.... I have really been getting the pomps lately.


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