Spanish Sardines, Sardinella aurita

The proven Spanish sardine, a.k.a. smooth sardine, gilt sardine, or gilt pilchard, are actually a type of herring. They have long, torpedo-shaped silvery bodies with a dark blue back, rounded belly, a forked tail and a single dorsal fin. Under ideal conditions, Spanish sardines may grow to eight or nine inches in length.

Spanish sardines are found in large schools in subtropical waters on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. They inhabit the Mediterranean and Black Seas to South Africa along the Atlantic’s eastern shores and from Massachusetts to Argentina, including the Caribbean along our shores. A bit of research revealed the main sources of Spanish sardines for the sport fishing industry are Venezuela and Senegal, followed by Russia, the Ukraine and Ghana.

These somewhat small fish, which are also closely related to shad and menhaden, swim in tightly packed schools often containing thousands of individual members. The large majority of the world's sardine catch is used for baitfish, fishmeal and fish oil, though a small percentage is canned or sold fresh for people food. Spanish sardines are prolific breeders reaching sexual maturity quickly and spawning several times a year, making them very resilient to commercial fishing pressure as they can quickly replenish their numbers. As a result, most populations on both sides of the Atlantic appear to be healthy.

Though they are abundant, their numbers often fluctuate depending on ocean conditions. All Spanish sardines are harvested from their natural environment, not fish farms. They are primarily corralled with purse seines though are also taken by gillnets and trawls. It’s no surprise the majority of the commercial fishery takes place in fairly shallow water around natural and artificial reef formations.

Just about every species enjoys eating sardines, live or dead. You can fish them live for snook and tarpon, cut up for yellowtail and redfish, trolled for sailfish and dolphin, or directly on the bottom for the whole array of snapper and grouper. Anglers who keep tabs on local baitfish populations know Spanish sardines can easily be caught on gold hook sabiki rigs or with a cast net (3/8 inch mesh) in shallow water. Though before you fill your bait well, make sure you have constant water flow to keep them healthy and happy especially during the hottest months of the year when oxygen levels are at their lowest. Spanish sardines loose scales very quickly, so what you don’t go through alive will be best kept frozen for future outings rather than trying to keep them alive in a bait pen.

The ideal situation after you catch them is to swim a couple hooked baits right where you caught them because chances are there are usually hungry predators in the area feeding on them. The same predators which are normally your target catch. Experimentation has proven the most effective way to rig a live Spanish sardine is through the nostrils without the use of any additional weight. Gently flip the bait out and pay close attention, eventually it will get hit.

Spanish sardines are extremely oily so king mackerel absolutely love them. Not only live, but “stinky” Spanish sardines rigged on stinger rigs drifted on flat-lines should easily put a few bends in the rod.

The only down side to Spanish sardines, is that after being thawed they are often mushy and can be difficult to keep on the hook when targeting bottom dwellers. Do your best to keep your supply on ice and out of the sun. Spicing up your chum with whole sardines or freshly cut chunks will add a level of appeal to any slick and will help draw attention from nearby game fish.

Inshore or off over the years Spanish sardines have proven their effectiveness as an all around go-to bait for just about any species. With the versatility of fishing them in so many different fashions, it wouldn’t make sense to head out for a day on the water with at least a box or two of frozen fellows, or better yet, a few dozen circling in the well.