pompanostradamus

Some of my earliest memories are of my Dad dragging me out of bed and into his truck, headed off to Johnson's Beach for a full day of surf fishing. We would drive all the way to the end of the old road and haul gear a million miles before we set up, often stopping along the way to run up a dune to check for good holes. He had about 5-6 3 piece Zebco rods with an assortment of Mitchell and Penn reels, handmade spikes and the biggest homemade flea rake you've ever seen. I got blisters and calluses from raking with that beast. We would fish all day and load up on pompano, nothing else. If we caught a sheepshead or whiting, we would throw it back. We were there for one purpose only. I grew up not knowing about pier fishing, bridge fishing or boat fishing. All I knew was surf fishing and that was fine by me. Here I am 40 years later, perpetuating the same thing with my family. Today I'll go see my Dad, a luxury I know not everyone has. As I walk into the house through the garage I'll see those same rods hanging on the wall and have some fond memories. He doesn't fish anymore, says he's got too much to do in the yard. I know he's too proud to tell me walking in beach sand kills his back and legs. So thank your Dad if he got you started fishing and Happy Fathers Day to all.

outdoorkid

Amen! Good Read.

Fishermon

right on!...great post.

On a side note pompanostradamus..I always follow your reports and predictions. This morning the water was murky brown dirty from all that rain...right after the wind picked up..bonita moved in mixed with a few kings...( at the end of the pier)

Pompanostradamus what do you predict for the surf this coming days...need some pompano fix bad. lol .... Thanks.

stevesmi

my dad hated fishing and the drive but he took me anyway. my granpda and grandma though loved it and were the ones who taught me how to fish.

pompanostradamus

Thanks for reading and replying. Fishermon, the wind will lay down tomorrow but I think there is still some junk in the water. If you have a spot that is consistently deep close in and fairly clear, try it. Still fleas all over, find the colonies and set up where the bait is. Wind and surf crank back up mid-week but lay down again by Friday. I hear there is a low in the Gulf so stay tuned for that. Honestly I wanted to fish this weekend but I took my girls surfing over the last 3 days.

stevesmi

always go on weather.gov and click our area's box.. then click the box over the ocean near the shore.. and it will tell you how choppy, rough, or smooth things will be and will tell you wave heights.

i actually like to go when its 2-4 feet.. seems like the schools of quality fish move closer to shore when its a bit rough.. when its too rough its just tough to fish, and when its smooth the bite seems slower. thats been my experience

gatoryak

Great post Pomp. My Dad has been gone a long time, but I still think of him every time I go fishin'

mcbig1

Great Post Pompanostradamus,
Like you my Dad was the first to take my brothers and I fishing.For the past several years we had been making a yearly trip every fall down to pensacola beach to kind of re-pay him for taking us for so many times.He would be like a kid-at-christmas time when August would come and September would begin cause He was always ready to go fishing with his boys,and we were always ready too !We lost our Dad July 9th of last year and we still made our trip down as a way of Honoring and Remembering our Dad .We,re making it down this year too at the end of September,cause You can never have too many Great memories !
Thanks again Man,Mike

pompanostradamus

I knew everybody else had a great story, thanks for sharing yours. Hope y'all have good weather and good luck for your annual trip!

Coach H

Great Post!!