The Tampa Bay Times
Spanish mackerel are one of my favorite targets. They’re perfect for the family style charters that I run. They inhabit a variety of locations from deep inshore grass beds to near shore wrecks and reefs. Once found, the mackerel are generally not finicky and seem to be very cooperative feeders providing almost non-stop action. Trolling spoons and small plugs has always been a tried and true method for locating and catching Spanish mackerel and while effective, it’s not my favorite approach. I prefer to anchor and chum bringing the fish right to the boat. This technique allows the use of much lighter tackle than the gear needed to pull planers in a trolling spread. 10-pound test spinning rods are all that’s needed to land these speedy fish while also being adequate to handle most of the surprise species that can also show up in a chum slick. The lighter tackle let’s the mackerel show their drag pulling qualities in fast paced style. Live bait is always my first choice for charters but often switch experienced anglers over to artificial lures. Small nylon jigs or spoon variations are fun, but top water plugs can really put on a show in a feeding frenzy. As for the surprise species, never rule out sharks, cobia, bluefish, jacks, trout, snapper, and more.
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