Blooms and Fishing

[toofargone]

Will be in town this coming Sunday. Are the algae bloom showing up in the Gulf yet?
How has the surf fishing been from Grayton to Seagrove area? What's been biting?

Thanks

[Smiling JOe]

Will be in town this coming Sunday. Are the algae bloom showing up in the Gulf yet?
How has the surf fishing been from Grayton to Seagrove area? What's been biting?

Thanks
I began seeing some algae in the water over the past weekend. Sargassum Grass is also beginning to come ashore in clumps. Surf fishing has been good in the area, but the algae and Sargassum will be too much of a hassle before long. Redfish are biting and so are the Deer(yellow) Flies.

[aquaticbiology]

As of yesterday there were no reports of jellies or red tide. The more east you go the more the water gets yeccky from the freaking beach renourishment project. Rain is causing some localised flooding clouding the water at storm water runoff locations. NMFS station data shows iron concentration is up (probably from runoff) but ocean Ph is luckily up (acid). Dissolved oxygen is up. Probably why there is more algae, well, that and the strong wind. Just FYI, Ph must be down (base) or neutral, iron concentration must be high and dissolved oxygen must be up to trigger a red tide bloom.

[Landlocked]

Gone,

If you're interested in Pompano fishing when you come down, there is a great article at this link. Pompano (http://www.graytonbeach.com/fish_story.html)

[JB]

Just read the article. I am not an experienced pompano fisherman, but learned much from reading it. However, he lost me when describing how to set up the rig.

[toofargone]

thanks for the pompano info. I usually do well off the beach, but those algae blooms can be a pain. :bang: For those of you fortunate enough to be on the beach the last few days, anyone see any fish being caught?

[Landlocked]

Gone-

I'll admit it is no fun to dig through a ten pound ball of slime in search of what used to be your bait. Hopefully you'll have clean lines on your trip.

JB-

Click on the link below for a good pic of a similar pomp rig. I'm going to try to tie a few myself before our trip in a couple weeks. It is way more fun to me to try to do them myself rather than buy them anyway.

Pomp Rig (http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Trails/2615/pompano.html)

[JB]

Good link. Thanks. I am gussing you can buy pre-tied pompano rigs at just about any tackle shop? I know sand fleas are preferred bait. Do most people scoop them up on the beach or do they buy them?

[Landlocked]

I'm not sure if you can buy them. They make a sand flea rake that works pretty well if you can find them. I'm going to pick one up on the way down. I'll probably wind up raking up cigarette butts and beer cans.

[toofargone]

Sand fleas are THE way to go. Fresh peeled shrimp pieces on a jig setup have worked well for me in the past. You can buy dead sand fleas at Yellowfin in Grayton. Can't wait. :cool:

[Landlocked]

Chicken necks and hot dogs. :floor:

[JB]

Not sure I could ever properly tie that thing.

[Landlocked]

Me neither but I'm going to try. I wonder what the spaghetti beads are for

[toofargone]

I use the pink/red beads. The color looks like pregnant sand fleas to the pompano (also help in keeping your rig from fouling). Gonna also fish Western Lake northern end for some redfish, trout, and even largemouth. Will let you know how we do.

[RiverOtter]

[QUOTE=toofargone]I use the pink/red beads. The color looks like pregnant sand fleas to the pompano QUOTE]

:blink: How does one know this? :blink:

[Landlocked]

One knows this because the Spaghetti Bead industry said so. Ha ha

[toofargone]

One knows this because his father taught him. If I knew how to attach an image on the MB, I would show the difference between the ones that are pregnant and not. Hook up ratios on the ones that are pregnant are like 3 to 1. :roll:

[Smiling JOe]

Tying a pompano rig is extremely simple if you have ever seen someone tie just one.

[RiverOtter]

One knows this because his father taught him. If I knew how to attach an image on the MB, I would show the difference between the ones that are pregnant and not. Hook up ratios on the ones that are pregnant are like 3 to 1. :roll:

There are some image posting instructions somewhere on the boards. It's really pretty easy. I can help if you need.

[JB]

Well, I did a google search for "pompano rig," and there are several companies, including Eagle Claw and eangler, that offer pre-tied pomp rigs. So if they are available online, I think it's a safe bet that a good tackle shop will sell them. Sure, you can tie them yourself, and I'm sure experienced pompano fishermen can do it with their eyes closed. But I can't think of anything worse than hooking a five-pounder, only to lose him due to an improperly-tied rig.

Just FYI.

[Landlocked]

JB-

VERY good point. I made some up last night. Hope they don't snap. I will have a few store bought ones in the box for when my first one pops.

[kurt]

The pre-mades are available everywhere here. I've used both. The only reason to tie them is for the fun of it or if you want to vary lengths and hardware. The orange beads may or may not work on Pompano, but they will likely scare off some species.