Good afternoon Frank, Could you share some info on catching both pompano and mangroves around the bay bridges please?  Mainly line size, weights, hooks, live bait and technique? Thanks, John Guiseppi

A: For pompano, best bait is live fiddler crabs, which can be caught along muddy shorelines. Chum with crushed oysters or by spudding barnacles off the pilings, and fish with at least a 4 ounce weight to get the bait down fast in the current. Regarding mangrove snapper, I’ve had better luck with them on the main channel edges where there are rocky outcrops, also along riprap shorelines—live sardines about 3 inches long are a great bait, but they also readily take live shrimp. I’d go with 1/0 short shank hooks for both species, 20-pound test leader, and 10-pound microfiber line, or maybe heavier for the pompano due to the heavy weights needed. Tight lines, FS