How to Successfully Pursue Monster African Pompano Like a Pro

From coast to coast, successfully pursuing monster African pompano is a serious angling feat. Here’s how you, too, can join angling’s elite.

Highly respected coastal predators with a fast and powerful stroke, the sizzling strike of a mature African pompano is nearly unmistakable. Similar to all other hefty jack species, these silvery-bluish heavyweight fighters rarely hesitate, rather swooping through the depths with vigor to devour unsuspecting prey like it’s the last meal they’ll ever eat. Once hooked, the diamondshaped slabs are revered for initial screaming runs followed by tailpumping mid-water jolts as the determined fish struggle toward the nearest structure against the strain of a screaming drag. Ask anglers anywhere and they’ll tell you African pompano have a well-earned reputation as serious contenders and for all of the right reasons. It’s not only the African pompano’s eye-popping beauty and ferocious sporting qualities that keep it in the top ten of every offshore anglers’ bucket list, but also their mild flesh that culinary aficionados treasure for its premium table fare. In all cases, one thing is for sure: Finding and fooling these glamorous gamefish is never easy.

Fully-grown “APs” exceeding 25 or 30 pounds — the true trophies that have since shed the slithering sickles characteristic of their juvenile counterparts — typically inhabit depths to 200 feet and, while schooling fish will cover long distances of open water, hunting packs are most often encountered patrolling the perimeter of natural and artificial rock, reef and ledge formations. Otherwise, attempting to pursue APs in desolate expanses of open water with featureless bottom topography is basically a complete waste of time.

While on the hunt for the target species, moving water means little as we’ve connected with APs in nearly every scenario. It’s literally a game of hit or miss, or simply being at the right place at the right time. Still, I prefer to cover ground when wreck fishing with an ideal drift speed hovering around .05 to .08 mph. Cooler water temps below 80°F also set the stage for exciting fishing, with the majority of landings taking place from late fall through early spring.

On scene, it’s challenging at best to specifically target African pompano because so many other predators inhabit the same strike zone, but, fortunately, the fish respond well to the same live baits that mutton snapper, cobia and other prize bottom dwellers prefer, with pinfish and ballyhoo both favorites. APs also slam jigs worked methodically in the bottom echelon of the water column, with the silver Mobster 250g from JigsRUs.com my undisputed go-to. With any approach, anglers looking to come out on top must be sure their connections are bulletproof and there are no obvious flaws in their fish-fighting skills. Otherwise, premature tackle failure or angling failure will ultimately enter the equation and spell your demise.

Often complimenting a diversified catch and always welcomed in any fishbox, prize African pompano continue to rule the wrecks as one of Florida’s greatest pelagic hunters.

Source: https://floridasportfishing.com/how-to-successfully-pursue-monster-african-pompano-like-a-pro/