Pompano prefer clear, sandy saltwater beaches. Their migrations are hard to predict, and contrary to popular belief, may entail as much deep-to-shallow movements as north-to-south. The fish are wide-roamers, but seem most abundant between Jupiter and Sebastian (including the Indian River), along the southwest coast from about Sanibel Island to Sarasota Bay, and between St. Joe Bay and Pensacola on the Panhandle.