Bobos

Are there bonita caught in the surf with any regularity around gulf shores or are they typically more offshore? I see on pier#r's chart it shows they will be biting best around my first trip down this year.

More offshore/away from the surf. They're a prey item, too, so it's disadvantageous for them to position themselves inside the sand bar. I've seen a school chase bait in the surf, but I considered that a fairly rare instance. Fishing off the end of the pier- decent chance. Fishing in the surf - unlikely. That's my take on it.

If you're really keen on catching them, charter boats (or if you have a friend who has a boat) can put you on them with a high likelihood of success. You can catch a bunch of 'em when you get into them.

Mattb, LTs are indeed caught from the shore every now and then (more so in the FL Panhandle in the late fall) but are so unlikely to be caught with ANY regularity along the Alabama coastline that I did not even include them in my 'What's Biting When in the Surf' chart.
Notice the chart you referred to is specifically for the pier, and this will vary slightly than the surf availability species and timing, plus LTs ("bonita") are not even a common enough catch on the GSPPier to ever be ranked any "Best" months.

Historically (on the 'old' GSPPier) they were a common catch from June thru October, but their numbers really dwindled back in the 1980s.
I really doubt more than a couple of hundred have been caught from the 'new' GSPPier since it opened almost 6 years ago.
I'd luv to see more of them around and would gladly update my fish availability chart if they do so.

That's too bad, they sound like a blast to catch. I figured they would be a good target if they were around that could also double as shark bait!

thanks for the responses

Oh yeah they are a hoot to catch on light spinning tackle (6#-8#).
Very fast and erratic swimmers, but they are highly pelagic and thus almost unpredictable.
Even in a boat you may have to roam for miles looking for an actively feeding school.
But when anchovy schools are in the surf zone anything is possible so keep a Looney Jig at the ready in case some 'pop up'.
Much more likely (in the surf) are Ladyfish or Bluefish and they make good sharkbait too!

There have been a lot of Bobos caught off the Pensacola Pier the last couple of weeks.

Are there any pomp's and or kings being landed

Look in the report section. It'll answer your question ;).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tkhorton83@yahoo.com

Are there any pomp's and or kings being landed

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Pomps
Kings
Spanish
Cobes
Sheeps
Flounder
Specks