Outdoors Column | Fishing for the elusive, but very tasty, African pompano
“They’re mind blowing,” said Capt. Pablo Koch-Schick. “They fight like a mix between a big amberjack and tuna, then can get sideways like a permit. The first time I caught one I had some as sushi and some cooked and it was the best fish I had ever eaten. I wanted to know how I could catch them more often.”
That fish, African pompano, is one of the more difficult targets for anglers in the Gulf of Mexico. As Koch-Schick explains, they move often and as soon as you think you might have it figured out they’re gone.
“They’re hard to target because they migrate so much. But if they’re there you can target them. I prefer high, aggressive structure like wrecks and often bounce around from wreck to wreck when I’m looking for them.”
Last Sunday when nice weather finally set in after Hurricane Eta, Koch-Schick ran a trip with the owners of Bradenton’s Fisherman’s Hut. Armed with a series of vertical jigs, the goal was to bend rods while checking out wrecks in deeper water.
“After a storm like that fish are hungry,” he explained. “When the water is dirty the fish stick close to the structure and as it cleans up they’ll move further away.”
In 150 feet Koch-Schick’s favorite color vertical jig of blue and silver was the first to fall slowly. On that first drop a big African pompano fell victim to a 200 gram jig he had rigged with Owner Dancing Stringer assist hooks. It pulled hard and eventually through the stirred up water Koch-Schick saw the beautiful silver sides of the unique looking gamefish.
On the second drop, another large pompano came flashing to the surface after a long fight. Them eating first is not something he is used to.
“I usually bring live bait to chum with. On most of the wrecks amberjack are more aggressive and will eat right away. When you chum the amberjack up you can fish below them for the African pompano. I use a lot of chum to get a lot of life going. The commotion of catching jacks is the commotion that brings in other fish,” he described.
“It’s like hogfishing where you have to weed through grunts to get hogfish. Sometimes we have to weed through amberjack to get African pompano. They’re worth it though because they look crazy, taste amazing, and fight hard.”
After the first two African pompano on Sunday, they were gone as soon as it started. But that worked perfectly for the anglers as the daily bag limit is two per vessel. The bigger of the two went nearly 45 pounds!
As cooler water sets in Koch-Schick says they can be targeted, but don’t get your hopes up long term if you find a few.
“Just when I think I’ve got them locked in and get them for a few straight days they move on. It’s tough to get them consistently so makes them even more of a special catch.”