African Pompano Fishing in West Palm Beach

African Pompano are a favorite of local anglers in West Palm Beach as they are excellent table fair, hard fighters and are one of the rarer catches in the area. These fish are in our waters all year round but they frequent areas that are many times the same areas that aggressive Amberjacks also call home. African Pompano must be 24” at the fork and anglers can have a maximum of 2 per vessel in West Palm Beach. Since they frequent the same areas as AJs most the year, it can be tough to target them. In the winter months, African Pompano will move into shallower waters as the water temps declines in West Palm Beach.

Bait for African Pompano in West Palm Beach

Compared to other deep water bottom fish, African Pompano like smaller baits in West Palm Beach. While you will catch them on large baits, the smaller baits entice more bites. Putting a large bait will also encourage other bottom dwelling species to take the bait as a large meal is always worth the energy expenditure of larger fish. Small to medium pilchards are a perfect size to get an African Pompano to bite in West Palm Beach. If you cannot find small pilchards, try using a medium sized skirted jig. Bounce the jig around the top of high relief structure while drifting.

Locating African Pompano in West Palm Beach

Locating African Pompano in West Palm Beach depends on the time of year and what the water temperature is. In the simplest terms, the warmer the weather, the deeper you want to be fishing for them. African Pompano like to hang out around wrecks and big structure with high relief. What makes this tough for anglers is that goliaths and AJs also call these wrecks home. Fortunately, you can increase your odds of getting tight by fishing the top of the relief. During the cooler months, you will find African Pompano on the ledge and shallower reefs in depths as shallow as 60’ in West Palm Beach.

Tackle for African Pompano

Your tackle when fishing for African Pompano in West Palm Beach need to be up to snuff if you want to get one in the boat. These fish fight hard and your tackle needs to be beefy enough to drag them up from the depths. You do not need to use the same overly heavy tackle you would use when fishing for Ajs but it is a good idea as there is a good chance you will hook an AJ when fishing for African Pompano in West Palm Beach. Choose a reel that is in the 30-50 wide class paired with a Heavy Power Extra Fast rod with 50lb Braided line to an 80lb leader with a 7/0 heavy gauge hook.