How to Catch Spanish Mackerel in Florida
The best way to catch Spanish mackerel is with a 1/4 to 3/4 ounce silver spoon fished quickly using a 3500 series reel loaded with 10 pound braided line and a 30 pound leader or a wire leader to limit cut offs.
Spanish mackerel are one of those migratory fish that come around when water temperatures are 70 degrees and above. They like their warm water and move up and down the coast of Florida based on water temperature and food supplies.
On the Treasure Coast of Florida that means that they leave the area in November or December depending upon if we have early or late cold fronts. They return to the Treasure Coast around April or May depending upon how cold the winter was.
Spanish mackerel are a very fun fish to catch and put up one hell of a fight on light tackle. They are also okay for the dinner plate too. To me they are a little fishy but some people just love them.
Have you ever wondered why we like fish that don't taste too much like fish? No one ever says, "This beef is great because it doesn't taste too much like a cow." Okay let's get back to catching mackerel.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the beaches and grass flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will show you how to catch Spanish Mackerel in Florida waters.
Let's get started.
The best way to catch Spanish mackerel is with a 1/4 to 3/4 ounce silver spoon fished quickly using a 3500 series reel loaded with 10 pound braided line and a 30 pound leader or a wire leader to limit cut offs.
Spanish mackerel are one of those migratory fish that come around when water temperatures are 70 degrees and above. They like their warm water and move up and down the coast of Florida based on water temperature and food supplies.
On the Treasure Coast of Florida that means that they leave the area in November or December depending upon if we have early or late cold fronts. They return to the Treasure Coast around April or May depending upon how cold the winter was.
Spanish mackerel are a very fun fish to catch and put up one hell of a fight on light tackle. They are also okay for the dinner plate too. To me they are a little fishy but some people just love them.
Have you ever wondered why we like fish that don't taste too much like fish? No one ever says, "This beef is great because it doesn't taste too much like a cow." Okay let's get back to catching mackerel.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the beaches and grass flats all over Florida for more than 40 years. In the article below, I will show you how to catch Spanish Mackerel in Florida waters.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below and catch more Spanish Mackerel.
How to catch Spanish Mackerel in the Surf
During the spring and summer months you can catch a ton of Spanish mackerel right off of the beach. What you are looking for is birds. If you see little white birds diving, then you know that the right kind of bait is around for Spanish mackerel.
Those little white birds are least terns. Least terns are about the size of a blue jay and they are small fish specialist. They eat glass minnows, anchovies, small sardines, thread fin herring and other small bait fish.
Guess what?
Those are the same fish that Spanish mackerel like to eat. So if you see that species of diving bird, then there is a good chance that the mackerel will be very near.
There are other diving birds that you should look for like sandwich terns, royal terns and brown pelicans. Those birds can handle larger fish species that might be a little too big for Spanish mackerel but it is worth investigating anyways. Most of the Spanish mackerel that you catch will be around 1 or 2 pounds.
FUN FACT: The state record Spanish mackerel was almost 12 pounds and caught near Fort Pierce.
Sometimes the mackerel will be pretty far off of the beach so you may need a large surf casting rod to get at them. However, during the higher parts of the tide they are often within casting range of a normal fishing rod.
Remember that these fish are small bait specialists so a smaller lure like a spoon, DOA CAL, minnow jig or a Gotcha lure is probably your best bet for mackerel. Many fish prefer a slow retrieve but I have found that mackerel like it fast and erratic. Believe me, mackerel are fast enough to catch even the fastest retrieve on a high speed reel. I will cover the best mackerel lures in more detail later in the article.
How to catch Spanish Mackerel Trolling
You can troll for Spanish mackerel to find the hunting schools of fish. A small silver spoon is irresistible to a mackerel. I will sometimes cast a small silver spoon out behind my kayak or jon boat as I am moving from one fishing spot to another. This is a great way to find fish of all kinds but especially Spanish mackerel when they are in town.
This species hunts in schools and works together to corral and pin the bait fish on the surface of the water so that they can feed on them more easily. It is hard to find the mackerel unless they have already found a school of bait fish and are feeding on them. That is why trolling a silver spoon is a great way to cover a lot of water and find the fish.
Trolling in general is a great way to find fish in the open ocean or out on the grass flats. The key is to not be in a hurry to get somewhere. I like to troll behind my jon boat and kayak at a fast walk pace when I am fishing inshore. I will just toss out a lure behind the boat and move to my next fishing spot.
This seems to work well for finding all kinds of fish. I have caught pompano, bluefish, spotted sea trout, tarpon, jack crevalle, snook........ and all kinds of other fish too using this technique. The moral of the story is don't be in a hurry and you might catch more fish.
PRO TIP: Double your barrel swivels if you are going to troll. Add one to the lure and one above your leader so that your line won't get all twisted up if your lure spins. Your line won't cast very well if you let it get twisted.
You can troll for Spanish mackerel to find the hunting schools of fish. A small silver spoon is irresistible to a mackerel. I will sometimes cast a small silver spoon out behind my kayak or jon boat as I am moving from one fishing spot to another. This is a great way to find fish of all kinds but especially Spanish mackerel when they are in town.
This species hunts in schools and works together to corral and pin the bait fish on the surface of the water so that they can feed on them more easily. It is hard to find the mackerel unless they have already found a school of bait fish and are feeding on them. That is why trolling a silver spoon is a great way to cover a lot of water and find the fish.
Trolling in general is a great way to find fish in the open ocean or out on the grass flats. The key is to not be in a hurry to get somewhere. I like to troll behind my jon boat and kayak at a fast walk pace when I am fishing inshore. I will just toss out a lure behind the boat and move to my next fishing spot.
This seems to work well for finding all kinds of fish. I have caught pompano, bluefish, spotted sea trout, tarpon, jack crevalle, snook........ and all kinds of other fish too using this technique. The moral of the story is don't be in a hurry and you might catch more fish.
PRO TIP: Double your barrel swivels if you are going to troll. Add one to the lure and one above your leader so that your line won't get all twisted up if your lure spins. Your line won't cast very well if you let it get twisted.
How to catch Spanish Mackerel on the Flats
Spanish mackerel are almost always a bi catch for me when I am out on the flats. I have a top 4 list of my favorite fish to catch on the flats. I target tarpon, snook, redfish and spotted sea trout 90 something percent of the time.
BUT when I see a feeding school of Spanish mackerel crushing some hapless school of bait fish I will paddle over and catch a half dozen or so before I go back and fish for my big four every time. They are excellent fighters and there first run is amazing if you have light tackle. I will cover the best rod and reel for Spanish mackerel later in the article.
Spanish mackerel are usually in the deeper parts of the flats or in the deeper channels. They are not a structure oriented fish like most fish on the flats are. They like an open water hunting ground the best. They need the extra space and depth to herd the fish into a bait ball near the surface of the water.
Watch the video below and catch more Spanish mackerel with lures.
Spanish mackerel are almost always a bi catch for me when I am out on the flats. I have a top 4 list of my favorite fish to catch on the flats. I target tarpon, snook, redfish and spotted sea trout 90 something percent of the time.
BUT when I see a feeding school of Spanish mackerel crushing some hapless school of bait fish I will paddle over and catch a half dozen or so before I go back and fish for my big four every time. They are excellent fighters and there first run is amazing if you have light tackle. I will cover the best rod and reel for Spanish mackerel later in the article.
Spanish mackerel are usually in the deeper parts of the flats or in the deeper channels. They are not a structure oriented fish like most fish on the flats are. They like an open water hunting ground the best. They need the extra space and depth to herd the fish into a bait ball near the surface of the water.
Watch the video below and catch more Spanish mackerel with lures.
What are the best baits and lures for Spanish Mackerel?
The best baits and lures for Spanish mackerel are smaller than the ones that you would normally use for other fish. I like to use pilchards, scaled sardines and other small white baits that are 3 or 4 inches, at a maximum, in length.
The Spanish mackerel will hit a 6 inch finger mullet but you very rarely catch them with a bait that big. All you get back is a mullet head with no body and no mackerel on your hook. Smaller baits definitely increase your hook up ratio.
The best lures for Spanish mackerel are:
- Silver Spoons
- Minnow Feather Jigs
- Gotcha lures
- DOA CAL or any 3 inch shad with a paddle tail
Silver Spoons-- Silver spoons are one of the best lures to catch just about any fish in the sea and Spanish mackerel love them too. Any kind of spoon will do but make sure to double up on the barrel swivels so your line will not get twisted up.
Use a faster retrieve than you normally would fishing for other species. The spoon will wiggle and wobble around on its own so all you have to do is cast it as far as you can and reel it back.
Spoons are great lures because they cast very well and you can cover a lot of water with them.
Minnow Feather Jigs-- Minnow like jigs are just jigs with an elongated head. Picture a half of a cigarette with a hook sticking out of the filter. These lures are great for vertical jigging for Spanish mackerel. Let's say that you are in a boat and the water is 20 feet deep. There are macks somewhere in the water column beneath you and you want a fried mackerel sandwich later.
You can drift over the school and work your jig from the bottom through the water column. Just raise your rod tip 3 feet and then let it drop as you reel the lure up to find out where exactly the mackerel are in the water column. Once you find the right depth you will just raise your lure rapidly and lit it fall back without reeling it.
Gotcha Lures-- Gotcha lures are like a silver cigarette with two treble hooks hanging off the bottom of them. There are just like a big glass minnow or anchovy and Spanish Mackerel love them.
Gotcha lures cast a mile and are made of metal so the toothy mackerel have a hard time destroying your lure. They make short work of soft plastics for sure. Just cast this lure as far as you can into the school and reel it back as fast as you can.
DOA CALs-- The DOA CALs are a perfect size and shape for Spanish mackerel. They look like a sardine or a herring so mackerel love them. They catch a lot of mackerel but they get bitten in half most of the time so you had better bring a whole bunch of them with you.
You want to fish them fast. They have enough action on their own so you don't have to do anything but cast and reel. I like the white ones or the glow ones the best but a natural color combination works great too.
Watch the video below and get the best rod and reel for Spanish mackerel.
What is the best rod and reel for Spanish Mackerel?
I like to use a lighter rod and reel set up for Spanish mackerel. My spotted sea trout set up is the best one because you get to hear the drag SCREAM with every mackerel. A 2500 series reel combined with a 7 to 8 foot medium action rod is the way to go.
Load up the spool with 8 to 10 pound braid to help you get the most out of each cast. You will also need to use a 30 pound mono filament leader or they will cut through your line just about every time.
If there are some small king mackerel in the mix then you might want to step up to a 3500 series reel and a 7 to 8 foot medium/heavy rod. You will probably want a 12 pound braid and switch to wire leader too.
What is the legal size limit for Spanish mackerel?
The rules and regulations change all of the time so check to make sure. The minimum size for a Spanish mackerel is 12 inches from the nose to the fork of the tail.
You can keep 15 mackerel per day per person. That's a lot of fish sammiches!!!
The rules and regulations change all of the time so check to make sure. The minimum size for a Spanish mackerel is 12 inches from the nose to the fork of the tail.
You can keep 15 mackerel per day per person. That's a lot of fish sammiches!!!
Are Spanish Mackerel good to eat?
Spanish mackerel are good to eat. If you asked 10 people you would probably have about 7 of them say that they taste good. I like them when they are fried because everything tastes better fried.
Many people think that they are kind of fishy tasting because their meat is dark and oily. It just depends upon what you like.
Spanish mackerel are good to eat. If you asked 10 people you would probably have about 7 of them say that they taste good. I like them when they are fried because everything tastes better fried.
Many people think that they are kind of fishy tasting because their meat is dark and oily. It just depends upon what you like.