# Fishing tactics help



## Dave11274 (May 23, 2011)

I'm driving down from NC to Jupiter, FL and will be trying to find some fish action from Dec. 27th - Jan. 1st. In north carolina I spend a lot of time pier fishing (spanish mackerel, bluefish, red drum) and fishing in the surf and in the sound (speckled trout, red drum, sharks, etc.) so I'm set up for both. I've never fished Florida this time of year and would really appreciate it if you guys can give me some advice as to what will be biting and what I should target. Again, I'll be in the Jupiter area. Thanks in advance.

-- Dave


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## fishnchevy (Apr 2, 2011)

*DoIng the Jupiter fishing scene.*

Hey Dave 

You're going to one of the best spots as far as fishing is concerned. I have had some great times at the Inlet on the Jetty and can bet that the bite should be hot..
If you have never been there it's best to map it with google sattalite it's a little tricky to find, the jetty is not that long but it gets some nice water and you can catch just about anything, the tarpon, barracudas, mackerels,pompano, snook and blues should be hitting for snook use red and white bucktails, blue and silver, or red and white bombers.. take a cast net for live bait and just do what the locals are doing.. If you can get offshore the blue water is within a couple of miles.. If it gets blown out head to the intercoastal for trout in the morning, live bait or root beer colored soft plastics.
Follow the link for the local report..

Good Luck 

Robert
http://www.cyberangler.com/fishing-reports/florida/jupiter/jupiter-palm-beach-offer-23670.htm


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## Dave11274 (May 23, 2011)

Thanks for the info Robert, I really appreciate it. Your reply and the link you provided have really gotten me excited about the trip and my chances of hooking up. I'd love to catch some snook/tarpon/spanish/jacks. Will plan on hitting the jetty and looks like there is a pier in Juno that seems promising. Up in NC we throw mostly gotcha plugs from the pier for spanish and blues. Is that what they us in FL or is there a different go-to lure? Anyone have any favorites to throw from the jetty or is it mostly live bait being used? I eagerly await any advice.

Thanks, Dave


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## smacks fanatic (Oct 16, 2010)

hey Dave do you fish for king mackerel? They will be there in hoards plus all the other fish you mentioned.


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

I'm probably biased because of deliciousness, but I'd be throwing a drop rig with some red beads and salted shrimp to try to catch some of those big 20" pomps. Yummy.


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## Dave11274 (May 23, 2011)

I love plugging for Spanish mackerel on the piers in NC, but have never caught a king. Do they catch any kings with lures on Juno pier or any on the jetty? I've only seen them caught with live bluefish from the piers in NC.


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## fishnchevy (Apr 2, 2011)

*Time to get out there and show them who's boss..*

For macks the gotcha rig is hard to beat, we alternate between gold and silver, also a natural cork bobber with a 18 to 24" 25lb flourocarbon leader #2 long shank hook with pilchard or finger mullet, don't show any hardware, swivels or snaps. The surf should be happening and the pompano should be hitting fresh clams, sand fleas or fresh shrimp pieces, guys have been having luck with small strips of Fishbites a new scented artificial bait in pink or chartreuse.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

dudeondacouch said:


> I'm probably biased because of deliciousness, but I'd be throwing a drop rig with some red beads and salted shrimp to try to catch some of those big 20" pomps. Yummy.


Salted shrimp isn't an East Coast Florida Pompano bait. For whatever reason, it just doesn't work as well over here as fleas and clams, or even the fishbites.

Not that you WON'T catch them, bu you'll be cheating yourself to fish with shrimp for pompano. In all likelihood, you are gonna be feeding lots of pinfish and toadies... 

I all but gave up on shrimp. Definitely not what catches the pomps for me. (that is the main species I target)


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

Guess things are just different down there then, but it works fine up here.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

dudeondacouch said:


> Guess things are just different down there then, but it works fine up here.


Don't take me the wrong way... I was just trying to say that it's not the best choice in these waters. (as opposed to the Gulf side of Florida, where it almost certainly is) It wouldn't be the bait that I would put a new guy onto if he wanted to catch lots of pomps over here. If you just wanted to catch whatever might be biting, it's a good generic bait. For specifically targeting pompano, not so much.

Definitely not trying to pick a scrap with you, for what it's worth.


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

No worries. Never fished the FL coast, so my opinions on the subject have basically no merit. 

In the interest of full disclosure, the two biggest pomps I've caught off NC have both been on small pieces of cut whiting. :redface:


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## Reel Slow (Apr 22, 2011)

Dave,

Just got back from a trip to Fort Desoto . I didn't do much good on the pier, but I saw guys casting for smacks using a glorified carolina rig with a clark spoon. They used a 1-2 oz egg sinker, swivel, 6-9 ft leader, small clark spoon (the kind we troll with). Some casted and used a slow retrieve. Others jigged it off the side of the pier. Didn't see any fish come over the rail, but talked to a couple guys who swore by the rig. No on was throwing gotchas. Catch 'em up.


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## fishnchevy (Apr 2, 2011)

*Mack Attack..*

I have seen that rig with the long leader work great, I have never used it and it's a little dangerous when there are a lot of people around. There are a couple of variations on rig .
The most basic is with a clear casting bobber, half full of water, above a 2ft leader threaded thru a 4in Mc. Donalds straw that slides down to a #2treble hook.


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## montylfl (Mar 29, 2009)

fishnchevy said:


> The most basic is with a clear casting bobber, half full of water, above a 2ft leader threaded thru a 4in Mc. Donalds straw that slides down to a #2treble hook.



I great rig. Paint the straw too with a few lines of silver paint for extra flash.


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## tjbjornsen (Oct 31, 2009)

dudeondacouch said:


> No worries. Never fished the FL coast, so my opinions on the subject have basically no merit.
> 
> In the interest of full disclosure, the two biggest pomps I've caught off NC have both been on small pieces of cut whiting. :redface:


Good discussion here...
For years I always defaulted to shrimp and fleas for Pomps.
This past year I caught the two biggest Pomps I have ever caught in Hatteras, and then two even bigger in Fl. All were pushing or a bit above 3#. (I know, nothing to brag about in FL, but certainly big by our Northern standards!)
All of them came on (you guessed it...) A Fishbites Sammich of squid and shrimp.
Surprised the heck out of me both times! I'm a convert. The box is now never without the stuff.


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## solid7 (Dec 31, 2010)

I am not too stubborn to try new things... But I tell you I just don't have any luck with the fish bites... Any pointers?


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

Last fall, I could many dozen decent pomps on fishbites.

Both the bloodworm and squid worked equally well rigged on small (#2) circle hooks with a bead above. 

I cut them into small pieces, maybe 1/4" square. They stay on the hook exceptionally well, so you can catch several fish on one piece of bait if the bite is on. This not only saves bait, it saves time. Sometimes the bite only lasts a short period, less than a half hour. If you only have to rebait every 4th catch, you can squeeze a lot more casts into that short period of time.


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## tjbjornsen (Oct 31, 2009)

Sammiches, sammiches, sammiches...
I cut the triangular shrimp pieces in half lengthwise.
I cut a piece of the squid into a strip/triangle about as long.
Thread on the top of the squid, piece of the shrimp, and then the hook back through the bottom of the squid piece.
I know this is going to sound as stupid as it can be, but every time I used both, I got more bites and fish than using either one or the other alone.
I've tried the bloodworms, and while great for whiting, I cannot honestly say I've caught one Pomp on them.
Tried Crab, zippo...
And it it always the pink squid and pink or red shrimp that does it for me.
Might be complete coincidence, or luck, or serendipity or whatever, but that is what just about every one of my long distance, out over the bar, Pomps came on last year.
In the sloughs and troughs and breakers at the beach, they did not seem to work as well. Still shrimp and fleas in close.
But if I am going out far, I am tossing the sammiches...
All on either an Earl Brinn rig or a flapper rig. Always small hooks, some khale, some circle, some gold, some not...
This is just what worked for me last year. YMMV!!!
;-)


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## fishnchevy (Apr 2, 2011)

*FishBites and then Some..*

Honesty pays off, I had seen the fishbite packs and read about them on other forums, but this was my first trip using the product. Man I was out this weekend and could have sold the stuff at a dollar an inch.....just kicked the competition in the jewels...check out the next Post....


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## dudeondacouch (Apr 6, 2010)

Sounds like you did well.


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