I got an invite late Thursday afternoon to head out with a few guys I've been doing some work with. It was a pretty rough start, getting boat in the water and trying to find some bait for the guys. They were all anglers, but they know I spearfish and they were eager to see it firsthand.
The conditions were beautiful and we made it out to the deeper water for Amberjack. I took my time getting ready to jump in as the guys rigged their gear. The water was blue for the first time this year, since Ive been going out, anyway and we could see the AJs from the boat. I jumped in and put one on the boat in short order.
I decided to go on the up-current side of the rig to keep from interfering with the anglers on the boat. As I made my way around the rig, I saw a group of fish "hugged-up" next to the rig. At first I just dismissed them as Jack Crevalles and went about in search of big mangroves. A few dives later, I wound up coming up from behind them, at their level. One turned back to have a look at me and thats when I noticed that these were not, in fact Crevalles, but African Pompanos. NICE ONES!
I had never actually seen one in the water, but I have seen enough pictures to know what they were. I put a shaft through one, and for the first time in my life, had a fish pull me to the float! These jokers are strong! Being the nice guy that I am, I invited him and a few of his friends, home for dinner!