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Post by conureman on May 14, 2023 20:59:50 GMT -5
Conureman: Welcome to my and probably most SSP fishermen's world! Thanks, I really love fishing the skyway pier so I'm glad I found this forum. |
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 14, 2023 21:58:19 GMT -5
Started Monday night around 11pm, caught the end of outgoing tide and fished the night on ssp a little after the bait shop, fished for snapper the last hour of outgoing got 5 or 6 11inchers but decided not to keep.. worked my way to the beginning of the pier for the first hour of incoming and got the trout freelining greenbacks with the current under the pier.. action got slow so I took a nap.. woke up around 5 or 6 and started again, moved to the north pier at the very beginning, tons of bait but no surface activity, I tried jigs and gotchas for a bit with no strikes, switched to a weighted spoon, 1oz weight with only about 5 or 6 foot of 25lb fluoro,1/2oz gold Clark spoon, casting far, letting it sink til it hits bottom then jig to surface, let it drop n repeat, I’m about a 30minute span of action around 8:30-9:00am but his is how I got the 2 macks and to my surprise the pompano as well, I tried with the spoon for another 20 minutes or so and then switched to a pompano jig to see if any more were around… only caught small blue runners and a lizard fish on the jig. Gave up around 11am Thank you again for all the details...even for me, LOL. However, I have one question, and I hope you are willing to answer it. In return, I am giving you and all here a little piece of information. First, I suspect that most here are surprised that you caught that pompano while fishing for mackerel using a Clarkspoon. Reading that, jogged my memory back to around 1960. Here is the information: At aroiund that time, there was a small trailer park on Lake Worth on the W side of the bay (Lake) right next to the big FPL power plant and across from Palm Beach Inlet. There were at least a half of dozen fishermen living in that trailer park who were snobirds, and made their living fishing in their small, inboard (Briggs and Stratton, lawnmower motors), wooden skiffs. They slowly trolled small gold spoons behind a weight and fished for and caught many pompano -- their target because even back then the market price for pompano was many times that for mackerel, and other fish. I think I remember that pompano got $1.00/lb back then, and mackerel were $0.15/lb or less. I had not thought of that for many years until I read your post. So others may want to try small gold spoons for pompano at the piers, and in our local waters. So my question is: Can you please tell us more details about the Clarkspoon you used? You said it was 1/2oz, but I checked online, ad Clarkspoon does not make any that are 1/2 oz, so you probably were just estimating the weight. They make sizes that are called 00, and the 0 is listed as 2-1/2 inches long and 3/8 oz, and the 00 is 1-3/4" and is 1/4 or 1/8 oz and is said to be 1-3/4 or 2 inches long (depending on what site you look at). Did you buy the spoon locally? I know that Wakmart stocks gold Clarkspoons. Thanks in advance.................. Oh crap I apologize, I must of typed Clark’s out of habit because that is what I typically use, but it wasn’t a Clark’s spoon at all it was a Johnson’s 1/2 oz gold spoon from Walmart |
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Post by tears143 on May 15, 2023 11:30:28 GMT -5
To be honest...
pompano is in the jack family... they will chase down and eat almost anything. I have heard people have caught them using a clark spoon... a paddled tail... divering plug.. surface plug... etc.
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 15, 2023 14:46:01 GMT -5
To be honest... pompano is in the jack family... they will chase down and eat almost anything. I have heard people have caught them using a clark spoon... a paddled tail... divering plug.. surface plug... etc. Yeah exactly, I was definitely pleasantly surprised, but not in disbelief, I’ve caught pompano fishing spoons numerous times now although that one was definitely the biggest. |
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Post by fishsci on May 15, 2023 21:00:44 GMT -5
To be honest... pompano is in the jack family... they will chase down and eat almost anything. I have heard people have caught them using a clark spoon... a paddled tail... divering plug.. surface plug... etc. Yes and no.... A few exceptions do not make a rule. Just look at a pompano's mouth and comapare it to that of a jack...pompano:much smaller, down-turned, no large teeth. I dare you to spend your time along the beginning of the S Pier and when pompano are being caught. Go ahead and cast your surface plug, or cut bait on the bottom, while others are catching them with Goofy jigs or pompano jigs that are bounced along the bottom to immitate the main prey of pompano -- sandfleas, shrimp, and small crabs. Of course you know better...so I am just trying to help others who might not know better -- better. |
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Post by tears143 on May 16, 2023 12:54:26 GMT -5
To be honest... pompano is in the jack family... they will chase down and eat almost anything. I have heard people have caught them using a clark spoon... a paddled tail... divering plug.. surface plug... etc. Yes and no.... A few exceptions do not make a rule. Just look at a pompano's mouth and comapare it to that of a jack...pompano:much smaller, down-turned, no large teeth. I dare you to spend your time along the beginning of the S Pier and when pompano are being caught. Go ahead and cast your surface plug, or cut bait on the bottom, while others are catching them with Goofy jigs or pompano jigs that are bounced along the bottom to immitate the main prey of pompano -- sandfleas, shrimp, and small crabs. Of course you know better...so I am just trying to help others who might not know better -- better. I agree. I just say they "will". You will have a better chance using the correct bait or jigs for them. |
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Post by Fish.On. on May 16, 2023 13:59:57 GMT -5
Started Monday night around 11pm, caught the end of outgoing tide and fished the night on ssp a little after the bait shop, fished for snapper the last hour of outgoing got 5 or 6 11inchers but decided not to keep.. worked my way to the beginning of the pier for the first hour of incoming and got the trout freelining greenbacks with the current under the pier.. action got slow so I took a nap.. woke up around 5 or 6 and started again, moved to the north pier at the very beginning, tons of bait but no surface activity, I tried jigs and gotchas for a bit with no strikes, switched to a weighted spoon, 1oz weight with only about 5 or 6 foot of 25lb fluoro,1/2oz gold Clark spoon, casting far, letting it sink til it hits bottom then jig to surface, let it drop n repeat, I’m about a 30minute span of action around 8:30-9:00am but his is how I got the 2 macks and to my surprise the pompano as well, I tried with the spoon for another 20 minutes or so and then switched to a pompano jig to see if any more were around… only caught small blue runners and a lizard fish on the jig. Gave up around 11am That's funny. I was out there last Tuesday it was slow all day til sunset, went to shallows and threw spoons for macks before heading for northpier. The bite was hot HOWEVER the dolphins were thick & stealing every mack I hooked up except one I was able to land. On one particular cast I hooked up what I was pretty sure was a pompano because of how it surfaced up quickly and the way it was swimming. Before I could land it the dolphins got it. I was doubtful it was a jack but after seeing your post I am pretty convinced it was a pompano that hit the spoon and not a jack crevalle. A few years ago I was jigging for pompano for hours and didn't catch anything. I gave up and decided to go for macks and tied on a gotcha. I kid you not the very first cast with the gotcha plug a pompano hit it. It was undersized but still pretty funny given the circumstances. The last thing I expected to hook up to was a pompano. |
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 16, 2023 19:19:13 GMT -5
Started Monday night around 11pm, caught the end of outgoing tide and fished the night on ssp a little after the bait shop, fished for snapper the last hour of outgoing got 5 or 6 11inchers but decided not to keep.. worked my way to the beginning of the pier for the first hour of incoming and got the trout freelining greenbacks with the current under the pier.. action got slow so I took a nap.. woke up around 5 or 6 and started again, moved to the north pier at the very beginning, tons of bait but no surface activity, I tried jigs and gotchas for a bit with no strikes, switched to a weighted spoon, 1oz weight with only about 5 or 6 foot of 25lb fluoro,1/2oz gold Clark spoon, casting far, letting it sink til it hits bottom then jig to surface, let it drop n repeat, I’m about a 30minute span of action around 8:30-9:00am but his is how I got the 2 macks and to my surprise the pompano as well, I tried with the spoon for another 20 minutes or so and then switched to a pompano jig to see if any more were around… only caught small blue runners and a lizard fish on the jig. Gave up around 11am That's funny. I was out there last Tuesday it was slow all day til sunset, went to shallows and threw spoons for macks before heading for northpier. The bite was hot HOWEVER the dolphins were thick & stealing every mack I hooked up except one I was able to land. On one particular cast I hooked up what I was pretty sure was a pompano because of how it surfaced up quickly and the way it was swimming. Before I could land it the dolphins got it. I was doubtful it was a jack but after seeing your post I am pretty convinced it was a pompano that hit the spoon and not a jack crevalle. A few years ago I was jigging for pompano for hours and didn't catch anything. I gave up and decided to go for macks and tied on a gotcha. I kid you not the very first cast with the gotcha plug a pompano hit it. It was undersized but still pretty funny given the circumstances. The last thing I expected to hook up to was a pompano. I agree that what you hooked into was most definitely a pomp, I didn’t have any issues with flipper in the morning that day although it sounds like there was significantly more fish around at the sunset bite. My best advice with flipper is use a 5000 size reel and up, keep that drag locked, and as soon as you feel that bite start reeling as fast as you can like your life dependent on it. I’ve had many days where the Mack fishing was extremely productive but wasn’t quite as fun as every fish had to be reeled in at hypersonic speeds and didn’t involve much of a fight at all. |
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 16, 2023 19:23:39 GMT -5
Also had a short trip last night from 9pm to 4am, action was hot in the beginning with another round of large ladyfish, keeper trout, keeper snapper, and my prized catch of the night and was a huge whopping 16 inch key west grunt hahah ! Action ended early as the tide switched to outgoing which was odd to me but it was still a fun night.
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Post by Mackerelman on May 18, 2023 17:46:30 GMT -5
Also had a short trip last night from 9pm to 4am, action was hot in the beginning with another round of large ladyfish, keeper trout, keeper snapper, and my prized catch of the night and was a huge whopping 16 inch key west grunt hahah ! Action ended early as the tide switched to outgoing which was odd to me but it was still a fun night. When the Macks are not Biting, We have to Target another Type or Species of Fish. I would go after the Snapper & Pompano. There is plenty of concrete columns in the water out at the Piers. Key West Grunts do taste Good! Great Job Stuckintherocks ! |
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Post by fishfinderbill on May 20, 2023 7:51:15 GMT -5
Went to Ft. D yesterday and there was a lot more action on the gulf pier then I seen at SSP in months. My one complaint is there are many more people out there and quite a few who do not know the rules of fishing etiquette. On the subject of Skyway,I talked to a "pro", one who posts on Youtube, and he said that he feels the bottom environment around the SSP has been so messed up by Red Tide and pollution that he or game fish won't be back for quite a while.
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Post by Mackerelman on May 20, 2023 18:13:39 GMT -5
Went to Ft. D yesterday and there was a lot more action on the gulf pier then I seen at SSP in months. My one complaint is there are many more people out there and quite a few who do not know the rules of fishing etiquette. On the subject of Skyway,I talked to a "pro", one who posts on Youtube, and he said that he feels the bottom environment around the SSP has been so messed up by Red Tide and pollution that he or game fish won't be back for quite a while. Today there were Bonito on Fire near the End of the Pier. That will tell You that something is wrong.     |
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Post by conureman on May 21, 2023 11:16:16 GMT -5
Fishing from 7am to now and at 9 there was a feeding frenzy around piling 119 and 121 so I threw a spoon with pink sticker flash and while I was Retrieving a fish i havent seen grabbed my spoon and yanked and snapped my line. It seemed about 32" give or take.If anybody can help identify what it could've been i. would really appreciate it.i would say it could be a King but I'm no fish expert. At around 10 I caught a 14" spanish mackeral on spoon and 2 other caught 2 more on live greenbacks.At 12 saw 2 fast fish go for my greenback that I barely threw and I couldn't set the hook in time so I lost one. Couldn't tell what they were. Seemed like 26" spanish mackerals or bonita.Dorry if my description isn't helpful but I was bewildered on the situation.
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Post by Mackerelman on May 21, 2023 11:33:34 GMT -5
Fishing from 7am to now and at 9 there was a feeding frenzy around piling 119 and 121 so I threw a spoon with pink sticker flash and while I was Retrieving a fish i havent seen grabbed my spoon and yanked and snapped my line. It seemed about 32" give or take.If anybody can help identify what it could've been i. would really appreciate it.i would say it could be a King but I'm no fish expert. At around 10 I caught a 14" spanish mackeral on spoon and 2 other caught 2 more on live greenbacks.At 12 saw 2 fast fish go for my greenback that I barely threw and I couldn't set the hook in time so I lost one. Couldn't tell what they were. Seemed like 26" spanish mackerals or bonita.Dorry if my description isn't helpful but I was bewildered on the situation. Most likely Bonito. They are a strong fighting Fish. |
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Post by conureman on May 21, 2023 12:00:06 GMT -5
Fishing from 7am to now and at 9 there was a feeding frenzy around piling 119 and 121 so I threw a spoon with pink sticker flash and while I was Retrieving a fish i havent seen grabbed my spoon and yanked and snapped my line. It seemed about 32" give or take.If anybody can help identify what it could've been i. would really appreciate it.i would say it could be a King but I'm no fish expert. At around 10 I caught a 14" spanish mackeral on spoon and 2 other caught 2 more on live greenbacks.At 12 saw 2 fast fish go for my greenback that I barely threw and I couldn't set the hook in time so I lost one. Couldn't tell what they were. Seemed like 26" spanish mackerals or bonita.Dorry if my description isn't helpful but I was bewildered on the situation. Most likely Bonito. They are a strong fighting Fish. Thanks. Do you any info on how I can land one or what I need to catch one? |
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Post by carlf on May 21, 2023 13:59:42 GMT -5
Bonito will hit the same lures and bait Spanish macs do but are much faster and stronger. They will run like a king, spool you if you give them a chance. Once you get one up to the pier you will need a gaff or pier net to get it up. Cut the tail on both side and put in the cooler to bleed. It eats like a tuna but a little stronger. Fillet and cut away all the red meat. Make spicy tuna rolls / poke.
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Post by Mackerelman on May 21, 2023 14:05:21 GMT -5
Bonito will hit the same lures and bait Spanish macs do but are much faster and stronger. They will run like a king, spool you if you give them a chance. Once you get one up to the pier you will need a gaff or pier net to get it up. Cut the tail on both side and put in the cooler to bleed. It eats like a tuna but a little stronger. Fillet and cut away all the red meat. Make spicy tuna rolls / poke. You hit it exactly right ! |
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Post by conureman on May 21, 2023 14:58:21 GMT -5
Bonito will hit the same lures and bait Spanish macs do but are much faster and stronger. They will run like a king, spool you if you give them a chance. Once you get one up to the pier you will need a gaff or pier net to get it up. Cut the tail on both side and put in the cooler to bleed. It eats like a tuna but a little stronger. Fillet and cut away all the red meat. Make spicy tuna rolls / poke. Got it thanks for thr info really appreciate it 👍 |
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 21, 2023 21:47:11 GMT -5
Went to Ft. D yesterday and there was a lot more action on the gulf pier then I seen at SSP in months. My one complaint is there are many more people out there and quite a few who do not know the rules of fishing etiquette. On the subject of Skyway,I talked to a "pro", one who posts on Youtube, and he said that he feels the bottom environment around the SSP has been so messed up by Red Tide and pollution that he or game fish won't be back for quite a while. Today there were Bonito on Fire near the End of the Pier. That will tell You that something is wrong. Man.. I don’t care what anybody says about Bonita that looks like a blast to me!! I love catchin Bonita from the pier they are the most fun fish and make great bait ! |
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 21, 2023 21:53:06 GMT -5
Last year at the end of ssp right around this time of year I’ve seen a school of about 20 10-15lb very large silver fish.. they were blowing up and chasing what looked like a school of finger mullet actually, and as they approached the pier they looked exactly like big gator bluefish from up north in jersey, but I’ve always been told those big blue fish don’t exist in Florida and that they only get about 4-5lbs here.. because of that I just assumed what I had saw was a school of Bonita, it wasn’t until recently that I actually saw and caught a school of Bonita off the pier that I realized they are very bizarre and distinct looking in the water, they were very obviously not bluefish… in my mind this confirmed that what I had seen earlier in the year was a school of giant 10-15lb Floridia bluefish ! Haha
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Post by shuttlecommander on May 22, 2023 8:21:39 GMT -5
Back in the 70’s schools of big bluefish would move north along the east cosst.. The fish averaged 10-15. Lbs. This usually happened during April and It became a media event because the blues would bite swimmers on Miami Beach.
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Post by Mackerelman on May 22, 2023 13:06:01 GMT -5
Catching Bonito is a lot of fun.
They are a strong swimming fish to catch, especially with the large fin on the top of the fish.
You think that You have a Large Grouper if You get a Big one.
The largest that I have caught was 29". It took me about 20 minutes or so to reel him in.
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Post by tears143 on May 22, 2023 16:11:51 GMT -5
Last year at the end of ssp right around this time of year I’ve seen a school of about 20 10-15lb very large silver fish.. they were blowing up and chasing what looked like a school of finger mullet actually, and as they approached the pier they looked exactly like big gator bluefish from up north in jersey, but I’ve always been told those big blue fish don’t exist in Florida and that they only get about 4-5lbs here.. because of that I just assumed what I had saw was a school of Bonita, it wasn’t until recently that I actually saw and caught a school of Bonita off the pier that I realized they are very bizarre and distinct looking in the water, they were very obviously not bluefish… in my mind this confirmed that what I had seen earlier in the year was a school of giant 10-15lb Floridia bluefish ! Haha can it be jacks? |
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Post by carlf on May 23, 2023 6:31:26 GMT -5
Could be jacks, when they show up in a big school, it can be quite a show.
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 23, 2023 16:30:47 GMT -5
Last year at the end of ssp right around this time of year I’ve seen a school of about 20 10-15lb very large silver fish.. they were blowing up and chasing what looked like a school of finger mullet actually, and as they approached the pier they looked exactly like big gator bluefish from up north in jersey, but I’ve always been told those big blue fish don’t exist in Florida and that they only get about 4-5lbs here.. because of that I just assumed what I had saw was a school of Bonita, it wasn’t until recently that I actually saw and caught a school of Bonita off the pier that I realized they are very bizarre and distinct looking in the water, they were very obviously not bluefish… in my mind this confirmed that what I had seen earlier in the year was a school of giant 10-15lb Floridia bluefish ! Haha can it be jacks? no sir, I am very familiar with seeing schools of big jacks from jenkins creek in hernando, to anclote, to Apollo beach, at the beginning of ssp, I’ve seen big schools of Jacks all over Florida, and they have that real distinct alien look with their wide bodies and those long fins, also usually you can see their yellow. I wouldn’t expect anyone to believe me because it is just one of those things that you just woulda hadda been there and seen it with your own eyes !! Giant gator Florida bluefish ! |
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Post by stuckintherocks on May 23, 2023 16:48:12 GMT -5
I looked and scouted all morning for those damn bonita… I was a couple days too late.. they weren’t there. Hahaha I did see some mackerel activity…only lasted about 20 minutes on a bait ball and didn’t see any other surface activity
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Post by shot33gun9 on Jun 8, 2023 18:22:05 GMT -5
Those fish posted are not Bonita, they are false albacore
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Post by carlf on Jun 8, 2023 19:42:08 GMT -5
Actually, little tunny is the most accepted common name for Euthynnus alletteratus
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Post by shot33gun9 on Jun 8, 2023 20:37:36 GMT -5
True carl, hope I never hook another, I've caught some along the way just to watch a frenzy of my Asian friends offer upwards of 20 bucks that I never accepted for a 5lb torpedo full of blood
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