Good morning East Side family, not much to report this week besides continued swell and onshore winds that will be switching directions to offshore for about a day then going right back out of the north. We ventured up to Canaveral National Seashore this week to target Pompano and Whiting, the conditions were far from good but we were able to harvest some nice fish for dinner. Here are a few tips that helped us stay active on the bite.

1. Regularly check your bait. When the current is rough and the swell is high it’s hard for the fish to find your bait, so make sure the bait is on the hook and fresh (we like to tip our hooks with a piece of FishGum incase our bait gets taken or is lost on the cast).

2. Utilize Sputnik sinkers for rough surf, we had to fish 5oz Sputnik sinkers to hold bottom. You can purchase them here at pompanorich.net

3. Don’t be afraid to move or cast into a new zone, sometimes the fish can be 10-20 yards down the beach from you, but you won’t know unless you cast a line there.

All in all it was a good time hitting the beach and fishing away from our typical haunts. The fishing should improve as our conditions improve so keep an eye out for a weather window and go fishing!

Our guide Matt with a beautiful Black Drum

What’s up East Side family! We have a little bit of a rough week setting up high winds and surf this coming Wednesday 12/11 until at least Monday 12/16. Best bets to catch a fish will be finding clean water, and manageable surf.

We will have to switch from fishing light pyramid sinkers into fishing Sputnik sinkers to hold bottom. We start with 3oz and move up to 5oz or 6oz if needed. Don’t be afraid of rough surf and high winds, these conditions typically trigger a feeding pattern if you can locate the fish. Another tip to get past the wind is to drop down from a standard Double dropper rig to a single drop. These rigs are more aerodynamic and cast further than your standard pompano rig due to less drag from additional lines, bait and hardware.

Here’s one of our clients from last week Friday with a nice Melbourne Permit

We hope to see some quality fishing during this stir up but we’ll take what we can get with this seasons weather patterns. Tight lines and good fishing!

Fishing has been steady this past week with whiting, small batches of pompano and bluefish showing up in the first and second troughs. The water has been fairly clean, though there’s been a noticeable current pushing rigs around. Waves have been relatively calm compared to previous weeks.

Looking ahead, the week seems promising for wave swells, but stronger winds might discourage some fishermen. Pay attention to wind direction—it shouldn’t affect beach fishing too much until Friday evening, when larger swells are expected to hit for the weekend.

Last week, the most productive tide was the low turn, with a few hours of solid fishing action. A 3-5 oz sputnik weight was essential to keep baits steady for the fish to find. Frozen shrimp pieces, live sand fleas, and clam strips are the go-to baits for this time of year, so be sure to stock up—they’ll be your best bet for the next few months. Remember, fish can be fickle: they might love one bait one day and ignore it the next. Always be prepared! Speaking of preparation, don’t forget to pack plenty of pompano rigs. Bluefish and small sharks are out in force and can tear through your gear in no time. That’s all for this week—tight lines, everyone!

What a weekend of fishing—it was on fire! The water was calm with a slight chop, fairly clean, and had a manageable current. The trout and weakfish patrolled the beach, devouring everything in sight, along with bluefish, big whiting, and black drum. I don’t think anyone could have asked for a better few days of fishing after a month of unfishable conditions. When that cold front hit, the fish went berserk! A few pompano were also caught in the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral area due to the front. Water temperatures around Cocoa Beach are now reaching the prime range for pompano, so take every chance you get to fish the beach. Thanksgiving week is shaping up to be phenomenal for beach fishing, with lake-like swells and west winds.

The most popular colors of pompano rigs flying off the shelves at the shop were pink, chartreuse, and white. These colors produced the most bites when paired with Blue Magic shrimp pieces and a touch of electric chicken shrimp Fishbite. Sand fleas have also been an excellent bait choice. Casting distances varied depending on where fishermen set up along the beach—some had great success with short casts, while others found fish farther out. It really depends on the beach you choose. It’s always a good idea to set up multiple rods at different distances—short, medium, and long—to figure out where the fish are biting.

Stop by the shop to get updated on the latest hotspots, and if we don’t see you before Thanksgiving, have a wonderful time with family and friends—and eat plenty! Tight lines!

Photo credit: Pompano Bill

Finally, a few days to get out and fish—it’s been forever! The weeds have started to dissipate, but they can still be heavy in some areas of the beach. This week is forecasted to be MUCH better for surf fishing, with the beach swells calming down and the winds finally shifting to make for a more enjoyable time on the beach. Hopefully, the water settles and clears up. The weeds, of course, remain unpredictable, but those who have powered through the greenery have managed to catch some nice fish!

It’s been a mixed bag of fish in the Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral area, with lots of good-sized whiting, eater-sized black drum, margates, lingering pompano, and palometas. The bait of choice has been sand fleas and frozen shrimp pieces. Speaking of fleas, it won’t be long until we start carrying live ones daily—the season is quickly approaching!

There hasn’t really been a defined area to cast into over the past few days to get bites. The fish seem to be stuck in a maze due to the weeds and dirty water, so simply getting your bait in the water is all you can do. However, the northeastern winds have carved out some beautiful troughs for us to fish. Once the water clears and the weeds dissipate, the fishing should be fantastic for a while.

Credit for the picture this week goes to the legend, Pompano Bill. As always, take care, tight lines, and we hope to see everyone soon in the shop!

Slow bite and lots of seaweed off Cape Canaveral. Looking forward to better waters off the beach.

I hope everyone is doing well and catching plenty of fish. The surf has been hit or miss this past week due to weeds, rough waves, and strong currents. On the days when most people managed to get out and fish, the catches included black drum, whiting, plenty of palometas, and a few bluefish.

Using a standard pompano rig paired with a 3-5 oz sputnik sinker was the go-to for most anglers to hold bottom and avoid rolling into shore within a minute. Frozen shrimp pieces and frozen mullet chunks produced the most bites. Fishing the first trough has been incredible; the storms and northeast winds have carved it out quite nicely!

We’re also coming into the season for Spanish mackerel, so stocking up on spoons and Gotcha plugs before they start flying off the shelves would be a smart move.

Looking ahead, waves are expected to pick up again, averaging 4-5 feet, with east winds also increasing. If you plan to fish, don’t forget the sputniks. Hopefully, things will calm down soon, allowing everyone to fish hard.

Tight lines, and have a great week!

Beach fishing this past week, after the storm passed through, wasn’t too shabby for many. There was lots of action along the beachline with pompano, whiting, redfish and black drum. The beach was eroded down to the shelly sands that Cocoa Beach is known for, and the fish absolutely loved it. Surprisingly, the water wasn’t as dirty as it usually is following a storm. Plenty of troughs were dug out for us to fish in as well.

Fishing the close troughs and washouts has been producing the most bites, using frozen shrimp pieces and live sand fleas scattered in the sands. Pink and chartreuse floats on pompano rigs have been the choice of many. Using a 3-4 ounce pyramid lead has been effective on most days, but on some days, a 2-4 ounce Sputnik weight was needed to hold the bottom.

This was a quick report today. Hope y’all get out and fish! Tight lines!

Let me start by saying the beach fishing in the Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach areas has been electric when those mullet schools swing by. Yes, it has been rough on a few days, but the snook, black drum and pompano have been firing most days. All the customers have been running in circles for bait and lures.

All right, let’s calm it down now. We haven’t been tortured or cut short of a mullet run this year by any named storms, allowing these baits to swim naturally for a change. It’s nice to see the schools moving by in the foaming, clean green waves crashing hard along the shore, with mist spraying off the tips as you watch the tarpon and sharks pop them off in the distance. It’s always cool to see, and it’s even more electric to hook onto them, even for a brief second before they jump and launch your lure or bait 10 yards into the distance. It’s every fisherman’s drug—it’s what keeps us fishing more.

Lures of choice have been Live Target silver mullets, along with NLBN 5-inch paddle tails and the good old trusty Bomber hard baits for snook and tarpon. All the other fish have been biting heavily on frozen shrimp pieces and clam rigged on a pompano rig. Lead size is determined by the wave height and current push, so it’s best to have a variety of leads to choose from.

If you have been putting off your fishing trip due to weather forecasts, I highly recommend just going because the fish are there waiting for you. You’re not going to melt in the rain.

Fishing has been heating up on the beach this past week, with big schools of mullet running through. The snook have been hot, and there are some nice tarpon busting the bait pods as well! Big whiting, along with black drum have been showing up, and some nice local pompano are cruising the beachline.

The weather for the week looks like a typical Florida summer forecast: sunny with a chance of brief but severe thunderstorms that last about 10 minutes. The beach swells are going to be ideal for fishing this week as well. As an added bonus, a new moon is on its way, so hitting the morning and evening bites will be key as we approach the start of snook season on September 1st.

The baits of choice for live bait fishermen targeting snook have been pinfish, croakers, and, of course, mullet. Artificial bait fishermen have had success with NLBN 5-inch tails, Hogy Pro Tails, Z-Man Mulletrons, and the elusive Live Target Silver 5-inch mullets. Don’t forget the trusty Bomber lures! Fishing the troughs with the switching tides has been essential for getting the best bites. Don’t try to cast miles out—they’re in close and ready to bite!

I’ll see y’all at the shop. Tight lines!