What this rig is all about:
Pompano are fish found in warm waters all along the East Coast of the U.S. and are prized for their flaky, white meat that has a mild, sweet flavor and is actually quite expensive per pound at the grocery store. It’s very common to target these pompano from the beach in places like Florida using a simple surf rig. Read on for a step-by-step guide on how to make this dropper loop pompano rig and some tips on how to use it.
Here is a list of materials/items that you will need to make this rig:
Links include pricing info on Amazon and are the suggested products for this rig.
- 25 pound monofilament leader line
- Snap swivel
- Barrel swivel
- Orange beads and floats (to mimic sand flea and its eggs)
- 2/0 Mustad hooks
- Sputnik or pyramid sinker (weight depends on conditions)
Recommended rod and reel (linked for product prices):
Okuma Longitude Surf Rod (10-12 feet)
PENN Battle II 5000 Spinning Fishing Reel
Setup guide:
- The first step to constructing this pompano rig is to start with the 25 pound mono leader line spool. First, connect your barrel swivel to the leader line using any secure knot you like. I recommend a palomar knot.
- Move roughly 10-12 inches down from the barrel swivel and make your first dropper loop. The end of this loop is where you will attach your hooks. Make sure the dropper loops are about 4 to 6 inches in length. If you don’t know how to make a dropper loop, you can check this video out:
- Repeat step two again. Move down another 10-12 inches and make another dropper loop.
- Move another ~2 feet down the line and cut it from the spool. Then tie on the snap swivel. This will be the attachment for your sinker. The weight of the sinker depends on the conditions of the surf. For stronger current, you want heavier weight. The snap swivel makes it easy for you to test out what weights will work for the conditions you’re experiencing.
- Now, it’s time to rig up the dropper loops. It is the same setup for each of the loops. Pinch the loop and feed a floater and a bead onto it. Then, attach the hook by feeding the pinched loop through and then wrapping it around the hook. Some people call this a quick switch knot. See the following picture to see how to do this.
- The final rig looks like this:
How to use this rig:
When on the beach, the location where you want to cast into is a trough in the water or a deeper “hole” in the water. Look for where the waves break and that would be a sandbar. Usually beyond that are troughs or locations in the water where the bottom is deeper. You want to look for those locations to cast your bait into.
As for bait, you can use cut squid strips and hook a couple of strips onto the hook. Or you can use sand fleas and shrimp. I would suggest casting out a few roads with different bait to experiment what is working for the day. Some people like to dip a portion of the squid into some purple Pro-Cure bait dye to increase that visibility to the pompano.
When you are rigged up and found a fishy spot in the water, simply cast out the rig with bait on the hooks and wait for a bite. No need to work the bait or even hold onto the rod. Stick a sand spike in the sand and let that hold your rod for you.
For the float colors, you should play around with the colors to see what works. It doesn’t always have to be the same color.
There’s a little bit of setup involved but this rig works very well! Go out there and test it out! Let me know if this rig is working for you and rate it at the top of this article.
Don’t forget to check out the Pro Fishing Rigs store for more cool stuff!