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Hooking Up Anglers Since 2011.
Episode 17 - Targeting Spanish and King Mackerel In The Central West Region With Capt. Geoff Page
In the summer months we see more of our resident population of king and Spanish mackerel in my region. We have strong migratory populations of both species that push through our area in the spring and fall, but the summer fishery is typically all our resident fish, which may or may not be in schools.
These fish will hold offshore on the Artificial Wrecks and well as on a lot of the larger reef structures. The key here is baitfish, the schools of Spanish sardines, threadfins and pilchards draw these fish to the area. A lot of these structures will hold bait for months at a time, and the kings and Spanish will hold on that food source for several days before moving on.
If it’s a clam day you can anchor or drift near the structure, put three or four lines out and chum the area with live or dead bait. If you have a livewell full of small pilchards you can live chum them and get the fish slashing and skyrocketing behind the boat in a feeding frenzy. When that happens you can drive back live baits or throw lures and do equally well.
You can also troll around the bait schools and wrecks with lipped plugs like Rapala X-Raps or Drone Spoons, or even slow-troll live baits. The thing to remember when dealing with Spanish and king mackerel is that they are slashing-type feeders that like to bite the tails off the baits, then swing back around and eat the rest of the injured bait. They have razor-sharp teeth, so you always want to use a light single strand section of wire, usually #4 or #3 copper colored wire, depending on the water clarity.
Because kingfish tend to short strike or bite the tails off the baits, and lot of anglers use a double hook stinger rig which is composed of a single 10 inch section of wire with a hook, followed by a shorter six inch section of wire with a second hook, usually #2 or #4 treble hooks. The first hook goes in the nose of the bait and the second hooks going in the back by the tail or can even be left free-swinging. Make sure the wire and hook don’t extend past the tail, because the kingfish will see the hook and not bite the bait.
The kings attack the baitfish at full speed, and often miss getting the tail hook in their mouth, but get it stuck in the side of their face, head or back. The skin is soft on kingfish, and that’s why a lot of the guys that target them do so with 20 pound monofilament on conventional tackle and soft-tip fast tapered rods that allows the fish to take a lot of line while not exerting enough pressure to pull the hook out of the fish. Let the fish run, then work it back to the boat slowly with minimal pressure until you get it on the surface and can gaff it. Put a lot of heat on the fish, and the hook will likely rip through the skin and the fish will get away.
We also see a good concentration of resident Spanish mackerel inshore in Tampa Bay. They come in to feed on the glass minnow schools and you can see them busting on the surface with the bluefish and jacks. That takes place all summer long and you can throw jigs and work them fast, or put out a pilchard on a long shank #2 hook and 30 pound monofilament leader and do really well.
You want light spinning tackle for the Spanish mackerel, usually 10 to 12 pound test to keep it sporty. Put that on a 7 foot rod for long casts and you’ll have a blast.
The average Spanish mackerel in my region is one to three pounds, with three to five pound fish in our spring and fall migratory schools offshore. The average summer kingfish is 12 to 20 pounds, with larger kings out deep.
You can watch the full episode and others on our website, www.chevyfloridainsiderfishingreport.com, and click on the Videos Tab.
This Fishing Report was submitted on 7/23/2013 10:10:38 PM by Seamus and last updated on 7/23/2013 10:10:38 PM.
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