With some planned travel and a month-long battle with a nasty bout of COVID, I had not been fishing for almost 2 months. Feeling good today as my 1st day back and limiting on pompano (12′-16″). Most on Fishbites tipped with shrimp in Melbourne Beach. Clean water, light winds, pyramids held just fine, 7:30am-11:30am. I fished the next morning in the same spot and landed 6 nice whiting, 2 pompano and a sheepshead.

Fished south Melbourne Beach starting about 2 hours into the outgoing tide around 10:15am-2:45pm. Held fine with 4 oz pyramids. A little slimy weed in the surf, but manageable. Fishbites, fishgum, all tipped with frozen shrimp or just shrimp alone. 48 whiting and 2 keeper pompano, 2 short pompano and several small whiting released. Non-stop action while I was there. They were still chewing when I left!

Folks often ask me about eating sharks. Bonnetheads, which are frequently caught in the Central Florida surf, are a personal favorite. These fish are delicious with mild, white, flaky meat. See the photos for the process of how to clean them. While there is a variety of ways to clean small sharks, this is the way I prefer.

After seeing a few reports of an afternoon bite, I gave up my sunrise habit and waited to hit the beach until after lunch today. The day was overcast with a cool SW breeze, a light current and slightly dirty water, so I was unsure what to expect. Between 12:00 noon and 4:00 things were at a steady but manageable pace in South Melbourne Beach. I had a blast with large bonnethead sharks! I landed 4 large and several small and had my hooks straightened with 3 others. My favorite to eat, and having a shark permit, I kept one. Whiting and pompano with a few cats mixed in kept the day interesting. A bit before 4:00 I landed my 6th pompano and wrapped things up for the day .

On Sunday, I fished the surf for the first time in several weeks. It was a pretty day at the beach. I had nothing ready and only some frozen fleas and fishbites to start with. Got to the beach around 8:30am and fished until about 1:00. I think I spent more time swimming in the clean, warm, clear water, on this hot and muggy day than paying attention to my poles.

Monday, March 30 – After a dismal morning on Sunday being overrun with catfish I chose not to fish this morning. Late in the afternoon I needed to go rinse some fleas. I gathered my gear and started my short walk to the beach around 3:30. I caught several small pompano, three big lady fish, and by 6:00pm, I was headed home with six nice sized pompano! The beach was empty and the few passersby maintained probably 20-30 feet!

I am fortunate that I live within walking distance to a beach access. If you can get to the beach, the fish are there. Started late this morning around 10 AM. The day started with several bonnet-head sharks plenty of catfish a pompano and whiting mixed in.

Friday the 13th – After being out of Florida for the past week, I had the urge to hit the beach. With no live fleas I grabbed a bag of blanched frozen fleas that I had put up last year. I fished a beach near my home where I could avoid large crowds and practice social distancing with the occasional beach stroller that would wander by.

Had some family visitors in who wanted to visit the beach late this morning in Melbourne Beach. We took a couple poles and the few sand fleas I had and came home with my limit of Pompano — including a 15″ and 16 fish. Fish is on the menu tonight!

I had no definite fishing plans this morning — other than the fact that I was going to hit the beach somewhere. With a bucket of fresh fleas and a new 12′ Penn Prevail II that I wanted to try, I went out on a solo trip. Undecided on my destination, I got a bit of a late start and left my Melbourne Beach home a bit before 7:00 and started north.