ONGOING WEIRDNESS 2020: Hookingly bizarre was Joe Handley’s huge pompano taken in Holgate on a tiny kingfish hook. They don’t belong here, at least not at the size this one arrived at: 3.24 pounds, with a 17.75-inch length and a 13.75-inch girth.

POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE: Joe Handley broke some LBI angling barriers when he landed an ultra rare jumbo-grade pompano in Holgate. The decidedly down-south species is so uncommon hereabouts that the state doesn’t include it in its record books. Maybe that will change with Joe’s catch.

Pompano and look-alike permit might be the hardest fighting of all nearshore fish, even tougher than bluefish in pound-for-pound terms. Their landing obstinacy comes from the way they use their flat sides to push against an angler’s pull.

Joe said, “It beat my North Carolina personal best at 2 pounds, 15 ounces. … The pompano took a freshly dug sand flea.