By Ed Killer for Martin County
Fall and winter along Martin County beaches offer up some of the finest fishing there is. After the mullet hordes have passed on to the south, and the snook bite has quieted some, there is a fishery which could be among the most popular there is, yet least glamorized by glossy fishing magazines and adrenaline-pumping slow-mo YouTube video fishing channels.
Surf fishing is fun, fulfilling and best of all, can fill a freezer in a couple of trips. Whiting, pompano, croaker, bluefish and Spanish mackerel are the prime targets. While none of these species will ever earn acclaim for their size, their representation on the dinner table is where they earn their credit.
For starters, the hours of the incoming tide and beginning of the outgoing tide offer the best time to go. Seas don’t have to be flat calm, but there is a threshold where if the shorebreak is too heavy, it may not be worth the effort. Surf fishing generally is a modified form of bottom fishing where lead weight is used to keep the small bait on the bottom. If the waves are too large and therefore require too much lead on one’s line to hold bottom, it makes it impractical to fish. Plus, these fish will tend to move offshore and beyond casting range when the water is too sandy close to the water’s edge.
Tackle requirements include a long rod between 9-12 feet in length. Some anglers prefer to use spinning reels, however, the professionals will tend to have one or more conventional reels in play which helps reduce line being “spun” up by jacks and bluefish. Light line is the norm, too, about 10-pound test, but no more than 15. Most use monofilament instead of braid. Use hooks of size 1/0 or 2/0 in a double-hook rig setup. Small pieces of bait – clam strips, pieces of shrimp, sand fleas or artificial bait like Fish Bites – really work well as many of the targeted species – especially the pompano, whiting and croaker which tend to feed using scent. Then, using a clip swivel, hook on a lead sinker weighing enough to hold bottom without rolling too much in the wave action. Sometimes that weight might be 2 ounces, sometimes it might be a Buick.
Whiting are nice to catch, and croaker mix right into the cooler just as well. Both produce white flaky fillets without the fishy smell meaning they can be prepared for the dinner table in any number of ways. Take the skin off the fillet, and bread for frying. Try a whiting Reuben on rye bread with cole slaw and Thousand Island dressing for a true delight.
Bluefish are voracious predators which feed in schools reminiscent of a school of toothy piranhas in the Amazon River, except larger. They can be fun to catch, too, peeling off dozens of yards of line, and pulling like a jack crevalle. By the way, the Florida state record was caught in Jensen Beach in 1972 and it was a whopper of a chopper, weighing 22 pounds. Spanish mackerel are also a fan favorite, and both macks and blues can be caught with topwater plugs, large spoons like Krocodiles and fast-reeled jigs. Bluefish can taste the fishiest of all mentioned here, but some like them. Spanish mackerel are flavorful, but only keep as many as one plans to eat that day. They are best fresh, and not that great otherwise.
But it’s pompano that really draws the crowds. In case there is any question, stop by a fish market and check the price per pound which hovers around $19.99, or about as much as other local seafood delicacies like lobster tail and grouper. Pompano have a delicate, rich flavor and elegant texture. Fillet with the skin on which leaves them perfect for grilling or broiling. Lemon and pepper and a little tartar sauce makes for a great reward for taking one’s fishing rod to a Martin County beach.
A HUGE THANK YOU to Ed Killer, Outdoors columnist with Treasure Coast Newspapers and the USA Today Network for providing the copy.