Species guide

Pompano, the paycheck in the surf

The pompano is the surf angler's prize: a fast, picky, beautiful fish that shows up when the water turns green, eats crustaceans out of the sand, and might be the best-eating fish on the entire coast. When the run is on, the beach at sunrise is the only place to be.

Check today's live bite score →Common questions
Best monthsMarch–May · October
WaterClean, green, 65–75°F
Go-to baitsSand fleas · shrimp · Fishbites
WhereTroughs, bars, and cuts

Seasons

The spring run is the main event: as surf temperatures climb through the mid-60s in March, schools push east-to-west along the beaches — Navarre to Pensacola Beach to Johnson Beach to the Alabama sand — feeding hard through April into May. A second, shorter run comes back through in October as the water cools. Summer holds scattered fish for the early riser, and winter sends them south. The whole game keys on water temperature and clarity: green and 65–75° is pompano water; brown and cold is not.

Tides and water

Read the beach before you rig. The first trough — the deeper lane between the sand and the first bar — is the pompano's highway, and the cuts through the bar are its on-ramps. Fish the moving tide, especially the first hours of the incoming when clean Gulf water pushes bait against the beach. After a big blow, give the surf a day or two to settle and clear.

Baits and tackle

Sand fleas (mole crabs) raked from the swash zone are the natural bait, with fresh-peeled shrimp a close second and Fishbites the durable, always-in-the-cooler third. The standard setup is a two-hook pompano rig — small circle hooks, bright floats, a pyramid or sputnik sinker to hold bottom — cast into the trough and set in a sand spike. A 9–12 ft surf rod reaches the far bar, but plenty of fish come from the first trough at your feet. From the piers, a small banana jig hopped across sand catches them all run long.

Where to start

Johnson Beach on Perdido Key is the local classic, with miles of walkable troughs and cuts. Pensacola Beach and Navarre fish the same way. In Alabama, the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach sand between the piers holds fish all run, and Dauphin Island's west end gives you the same game with fewer footprints. Mobile Bay itself is not pompano water; stay on the Gulf side.

Rules in one breath

Florida: 11" fork length minimum, six per person. Alabama: 12" fork length, three per person. The difference matters if you fish both sides of the state line in one morning — know whose sand you're standing on.

Common questions

When do pompano run on the Pensacola and Gulf Shores beaches?

The spring run peaks March through May as surf temperatures pass 65°F, with a shorter fall run in October. Sunrise on a moving tide with clean, green water is the prime window.

What is the best bait for pompano?

Live sand fleas raked right off the beach, fresh-peeled shrimp, and Fishbites (sand flea or shrimp flavor) on a two-hook pompano rig with small circle hooks and a sinker that holds bottom.

How do you find pompano on a beach?

Look for the darker water of the first trough, the cuts through the outer bar, and any place the shorebreak digs harder — then fish the moving tide. Ten minutes of walking and reading beats a morning of blind casting.

What's the difference between Florida and Alabama pompano limits?

Florida allows six fish at an 11-inch fork-length minimum; Alabama allows three at 12 inches. The state line at the Flora-Bama means limits can change mid-walk.

Gear that works here

Links may become affiliate links that support the site at no cost to you. Any decent local tackle shop carries the same gear — the bait shops listed on each conditions page will point you right.

By local water

Plan the trip

Conditions decide more than tackle does. The live dashboard scores the morning from NOAA tide swing, wind, and sky for six local waters, with solunar windows and marine alerts.

Seasons, size limits, bag limits, and closures change. Verify with Florida FWC and Outdoor Alabama before keeping fish.