Sub-surface Sensations

Spanish mackerel – quite possibly the perfect fly-fishing target.

Each year, Spanish mackerel invade Atlantic coastal waters in numbers that truly boggle the mind. While the methods for catching these voracious feeders are almost as numerous as the fish themselves, fly tackle is surely one of the most exciting means for scoring serious numbers of these serrated-tooth speedsters.

Of all the inshore game fish that benefited from the net ban, Spanish mackerel are, without a doubt, the one species that not only recovered but exploded! Vast schools with numbers ranging in the thousands, if not the tens of thousands, appear every fall and remain in local waters from Ft. Pierce to The Florida Keys throughout the entire winter season. True day-savers when more glamorous sailfish, king mackerel and dolphin aren’t cooperating, a quick run along almost any beach or around any relatively shallow reef will typically produce enough light tackle rod-bending action to please even the most jaded angler.

Locating Spanish mackerel is not difficult and requires only a little local knowledge and a sharp set of eyes. Tidal lines in close proximity to inlet mouths are a good place to start your search, but most of the time the macks will be plainly visible while they feed. Splashing and slashing, the boiling surface commotion and showering glass-minnows and sardines are pretty hard to miss. If the action does escape your attention, it won’t escape the birds. Seagulls, terns, pelicans and frigates track the schools giving away their location with a sign post that might as well read, “Get your Spanish mackerel right here!”

You can generally find large schools of cooperative mackerel running out of almost any inlet along the southeast coast, however, the epicenter has always been an area referred to as Peck Lake - just south of the St. Lucie Inlet. Studying a chart, you’ll notice that Peck Lake is actually located inside the ICW. This is NOT where the mackerel are located. Peck Lake is just a landmark; the fishing action takes place in the ocean, just offshore from Peck Lake. Run south from St. Lucie Inlet or north from Jupiter Inlet and there’s two ways to know you’re getting close to the frenzy. The easiest way is to look for the flotilla. Commercial boats, flat skiffs, large sportfish yachts and almost every other conceivable floating vessel will be there. When the bite is ‘on,’ it will look like the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat Show.

The other way you will know you’ve arrived is by your fish-finder screen appearing as if it is malfunctioning - indicating the water depth is only five feet deep when it is actually closer to 25 feet deep. That big blob taking up most of your screen is your color scopes’ way of letting you know that there are likely more Spanish mackerel under your hull than anywhere else in the state. Anglers need to realize that they do not need to thread their way into the mass of boats to catch plenty of fish - especially if you wish to battle the large six to nine pound mackerel hovering around the outskirts of the main congregation.  

Regardless of what exact part of the coastline you are fishing, the weather will generally dictate what size fly gear will be the most effective. Obviously the lighter fly gear you use, the more intense the battle will be with rods as light as four-weight making fights truly epic. As a general rule of thumb, I use a very light rod for calm conditions, a medium rod when there is a slight breeze of up to 10 knots, and a medium/heavy rod for when the wind is really howling. Six, seven and nine-weight rods should cover all of the weather conditions.

If the majority of the mackerel you are encountering are in the three to five pound class, they can do a decent amount of running so your reel should have ample backing. Since the action most often occurs around the top third of the water column, floating lines work fine. Days when the water is gin-clear and the fish are being picky, a clear intermediate line will help you achieve the desired results. There are also days when the mackerel hug the bottom and you will be better off with a fast sinking line. For a good reference on sinking lines, check out my article in the July/August 2007 issue of Florida Sport Fishing. There you will find everything you need to know about sinking fly lines.

“Spanish mackerel are minnow eating machines so almost any fly in a white, yellow, chartreuse, pink or light blue pattern with a slight flash will work.”

When specifically targeting Spanish mackerel for sport, you can use a fairly straightforward leader system. Nine to 12-feet should be adequate. Cool winter water can be a little discolored at times so monofilament leaders will work fine. There are however, days when the water is extremely clear and fluorocarbon leaders with their nearly invisible qualities will be necessary to attract more attention. On occasion, I prefer to incorporate a short trace of #4 single-strand wire as a guard against the Spanish mackerels’ razor sharp teeth, but then again there will be days when 60lb. fluorocarbon bite tippet will attract more strikes than the more visible wire rigs.  

The best tip I can pass along about leader configuration is to have as few connecting knots as possible. Anything that attracts a mackerels’ attention will inevitably get slashed in the onslaught. As luck would have it, this often happens when you’re fighting a fish and there is a pack of hungry mackerel following the hooked one trying to figure out what the fish is so excited about. One of the followers will notice a flash reflecting off a knot in the leader and bingo; he just released your mackerel for you. Not a big deal, but they can zero-in on the knot that connects your leader to the fly line, or worse, the knot connecting the fly line to your backing. I have lost as many as four fly lines in a single outing to ravenous Spanish macks and the numerous bluefish often mixed in can magically perform the same annoying trick.

Spanish mackerel are minnow eating machines so almost any fly in a white, yellow, chartreuse, pink or light blue pattern with a slight flash will work. Clousers, Lefty’s Deceivers and Glades Minnows are just a few of the patterns that continue to prove their worthiness. Fly length should be two to four inches on size 2/0 hooks.

Since Spanish mackerel attack with reckless abandon, I highly recommend using flies made of Superhair or other durable materials. Rule #1 is to bring along mass amounts of flies as going through two dozen is not just a possibility during a steady bite; it’s a sure thing! If you have ever considered incorporating circle-hooks in your fly patterns, forget about it. With fast striking game fish, your hookup ratio will be substantially reduced.

On rare occasions Spanish mackerel will react to flies that are just twitched along, but a fast strip combined with a long pause will usually trigger strikes when nothing else works. Most of the time, a continuous retrieve with fast, short strips will be what the macks are most interested in. Multiple strikes per cast is the kind of fast and furious reactions you are looking for.

Setting the hook in a mackerel is pretty simple as they have very hook-able mouths. A sharp jab or two with the rod should be all that is needed to stay connected. While quite often they set themselves, make sure you finish the job. Spanish mackerel can hit the fly and spit it back out in the blink of an eye so hit ‘em quick. Strip-striking is not a very effective method because the mackerel generally swipe at the fly as it is coming at you and the small amount of line you move with a strip-strike isn’t enough to come tight to the fish. As always, be sure your hooks are razor sharp.

At least spinner sharks finish the job.”

Spanish mackerel are arguably one of the slimiest fish out there - rivaling ladyfish for their shear gooeyness. Unless I am posing for a photo op, I personally refrain from grabbing them in any way, whether or not they are being released into the icebox or back into the water to fight another day. Touching fish intended for release with a dry rag or pair of gloves will remove their protective slime coat, an important part in their ongoing survival. In this situation, a long handled de-hooker is worth its weight in gold. A short handled de-hooker will do the trick but places your fingers dangerously close to their very sharp teeth and in the process of trying to get them off the hook, their thrashing gyrations offer the frisky fish a chance to connect with your unprotected flesh. Take it from personal experience; this is not something you want to experience.

Your icebox will also suffer some indignities with a mess of mackerel in it. I suggest you bring a separate cooler for your food and beverages rather than having them covered with Spanish mackerel slime. Oh yes, there will be lots of blood, too. More than any other time of the year, my pressure washer gets plenty of use during the winter Spanish mackerel season.

If and when you decide to save a few for the dinner table, a saltwater slush in the cooler will offer you the best results. Get the fish in the slush immediately and their edibility will impress any dinner guest.

There are a few other factors to keep in mind when fly-fishing for winter mackerel. With so many fish in a specific area, it is basically a big, transient feast that attracts a number of other predatory species. Bluefish, jack, ladyfish and pompano are just a few that come to mind. However, don’t be shocked to find a large king mackerel chopping down on your Spanish, and consider yourself lucky if you don’t have several encounters with pesky barracuda. Pods of cobia are often seen cruising through the mackerel schools, so it would be wise to have a variety of tackle rigged for these possibilities. If you’re not ready at a moment’s notice, it’s too late because opportunities like this come and go in the blink of an eye.

Bottlenose dolphin are always around the mackerel schools looking for boats with lots of activity. If you spot a group of porpoise working a school of Spanish mackerel, don’t even bother stopping. The mackerel will not feed while being harassed by Flipper and his friends. If dolphin invade while you are actively catching fish, you can either move on to another area or simply stop fishing and wait till the porpoise depart. They won’t leave you alone while in the process of catching fish and if they are really hungry, you won’t be able to get a single fish to the boat. It’s not uncommon to watch clients get spooled when a porpoise refuses to let go of a hooked mackerel. Most often they just eat the body and leave you with the head. At least spinner sharks finish the job.

It doesn’t matter if you are an experienced fly-caster or a rookie looking to hone your skills, Spanish mackerel provide an amazing fishery for all to enjoy. Get out there and enjoy the action, just don’t forget Rule #1 – come prepared with plenty of flies.

Day after day the commercial fleet literally devastates the Peck Lake Spanish mackerel population, often hauling in hundreds of pounds while recreational anglers stand by and observe with bentless rods. How can they be getting away with this? I will tell you how; through a loop hole in how their gill-nets are categorized. If depleting the resource weren’t enough, lost nets litter the bottom where they continue to kill and damage the fragile ecosystem. Divers report carnage beyond anything they have ever seen with sea turtles, lobster and a variety of other valuable marine life entangled and decaying in the nets found here just offshore of the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park just south of Stuart. If something is not done about this soon, the Spanish mackerel population which we have worked so hard to restore, may plummet. Contact Park authorities and find out what you can do to help (772.219.1880).