Scrappy pompano clober bright, flashy lfies fished with sinking fly lines.

At the drop of the hat, Dick Carline and Pete Sullivan are ready to jump aboard my boat for some fly fishing in Estero Bay or up north a ways at Punta Rassa. Winter trips are casual affairs and we don’t rush out much before 8 or 9 a.m., when it’s too cold for grandpa’s old bones. I think the fish feel the same way. We’re birds of a feather, nothing especially fancy about the tackle. Dick, a retired engineer, has his favorite 20-year-old, 7-weight rod, which he casts with elegant ease. Pete, who gave up tool and die work in Massachusetts, can punch out a steady stream of 50- to 60-foot casts with a very modest 6-weight rod. Our usual winter targets are seatrout, ladyfish, bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Lately we’ve added pompano to the mix. Here’s how.

The first pompano show in early autumn along the lower Florida Gulf Coast, and we continue to catch them until late spring. We’ve found schools of the fat and sassy “yellow bellies” skipping along the surface on many of the hard-bottom flats and the pothole patches in the bays and passes. These areas tend to have good tidal movement throughout the day and are often affected by wave action. Also, close proximity to the Gulf means high salinity—good for pompano and their forage.

Traditionally, pompano are fished in the surf with special attention to the sloughs formed by wave action just off the beach. Large sandbars like those off Sanibel Light House beach can also be hotspots. My home waters include San Carlos Bay and the spoil islands that are part of the Sanibel Causeway. These islands and bridges create bottlenecks that amplify the tidal current. The several bridges, channels and adjacent deep flats just off the Gulf are prime for pompano, whiting and black drum.

When targeting pompano, it’s a good idea to fly fish over sparse cover, generally mixed bottom. This is not to say they will not invade lush grassbeds that hold trout. Pompano will generally feed more actively along the perimeter of grassbeds, favoring deeper flats than trout, so fishing in four to even 10 feet of water is typical. Pompano will feed on large open expanses of hard bottom that are usually devoid of trout. Hard-bottom areas spotted with shells and old crab traps are great habitat for crustaceans, which account for pompano catches. Pompano also congregate in deep potholes, especially during low water. For example, northern Pine Island Sound is peppered with the remnants of craters made during World War II. The area was used as a bombing range and today these craters are referred to as “The Bombing Range.”

The surest sign of pompano is “skippers,” pomps that zoom out of the water when alerted. They skip in your boat wake when under power, but also when you drift over them. This adds a modified sight fishing flavor to the hunt. Where you see skipping fish, cast and fish your flies thoroughly and patiently. Florida anglers have mixed feelings about this. Some say they skip and don’t eat; others report catching them with ease where they skip out of the water. In areas where great masses of pompano migrate, schools of foraging fish can even create visible plumes of mud. Make a few casts into any muds that you observe on the flats in late winter and spring. Pompano will also trail large rays, groups of rays or even a manatee in order to pick up tasty morsels kicked up in their wakes.

Effective impressionistic shrimp and minnow flies.

A good depthfinder rigged for reporting temperature data can be a great help. You’ll find that the pomps tend to hang at the same depth even on different drifts on any given day. That depth represents a comfort zone. That zone may be only a degree or two different from the surrounding water. This info is especially valuable on days when the fish aren’t in a “skippy mood,” like after a strong cold front moves through.