Chilly Temperatures Bring in the Pompano to Naples Backwaters

November 26, 2012

November is winding down this week and as is usually the case this time of year, the fishing scene is in full transition right now.  I have had a full schedule of two half day trips each day for the last week and mother nature has brought in a solid week of down right chilly weather.  With that, the fishing action has changed with some new targets showing up such as pompano, trout and bluefish.  Snook have seemed to go into temporary hibernation as water temperatures cooled down to 63 degrees in some of the back bays.  Redfish are still working the area, however we have had to really hunt for them catching mostly single fish in one spot and moving on.  Most of the reds have been in the 23 to 24 inch size range.

The pompano are throughout the back country channels adjacent to shallow flats.  Moving water is the key to success on either tide.  A favorite bait for these tasty fighters is a 1/4 to 3/8 ounce jig.  I like to tip the jig with a cleanly cut segment of fresh shrimp tail.  anchor or drift on the channel edge and make cast across current.  Keeping the tip up slightly, bump the jig up off the bottom with a sharp one foot hop, retrieving the slack as it falls back to the bottom between hops.
My favorite jig is sort of a Naples entity developed on the Naples pier a half century ago. The tail of the jig is nothing other than a short piece of surgical tubing. Chartreuse and pink are colors of choice.  These are easy to make and there are several locally made versions available in area tackle shops.  I attach a piece of 25 lb. leader directly to the line with a modified surgeons knot.

 Here is my typical rig…

The redfish action last week was hit and miss.  While most trips caught a few nice reds, we were never able to locate them in schools.  We targeted them in deeper mangrove edges as well as shallow oyster bottom and cover with live shrimp or jigs.  Moving spot to spot, when we found a fish, it was and instant strike.  The reds were all nice fish running 23 or 24 inches.  Friday morning, Barritt Gilbert and son William worked hard for some nice results catching and releasing several pompano and then moving on to releasing several nice reds.  Heres William with a 24 incher caught in heavy cover…

I have another busy week ahead, and with the weather finally on a warming trend along with strong tides, I expect it to be more productive.

- Capt. Todd Geroy