Pompano Rig

Knot tying is a skill often lacking in beginner fishermen.  Today I will address a common surf fishing rig primarily used for catching Pompano, and it will undoubtably land some Whiting as well.  The above illustration attempts to show the following components of the rig:  A 30" piece of 20-30lb test fluorocarbon line for the leader, two 2/0 stainless steel circle hooks, two plastic beads with hole through center, one metal swivel, and a 3-5 oz. Pyramid or Teardrop lead sinker. It takes about 3 min to build one from scratch once you practice a time or two.  I will post a video in the future demonstrating how easy this rig is to tie.  There are three basic fishing knots used here; the clinch knot (used to tie the line to the swivel), the spider hitch knot (used to make the drop loops) and the figure 8 knot used at the sinker end to tie the big loop.  The bait used for Pompano are usually the Sand Flea, but they have been known to bite on cut Whiting head as well as on a Pompano Jig, and even sometimes on fresh dead shrimp.

The two loop dropper rig I tied for demonstration purposes can be seen above.  Many of you might know how to tie these types of rigs, and many of you may knot have been boy scouts and might be clueless.  If you know how to tie these rigs then keep moving, this entry is not for you.  The beads are strung on the loop that holds the hooks so that the bait does not sit on the bottom.  During the writing of this entry, I was fortunate enough to get my Jennifer involved.  Class was now in session.  Jennifer will be building these things in no time at all.  We had fun.