I used to spend a lot of summer days in Virginia Beach chasing Spanish mackerel with tiny spoons a few miles offshore. But this summer, it dawned on me that my Spanish strategies hadn’t changed after 30 years of pursuing these silver conquistadors. I requested the opinions of four local experts from the mid-Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico to gather fresh information.
Fortunately, Virginia Beach has a dedicated crew of charter captains who fish every day just outside of the oceanfront skyscrapers of this popular tourist destination. I dropped a line to old friend Capt. Nolan Agner arranged for me to go fishing with Captain Fisher Terry and Luke Jennings are aboard the 40-foot deadrise workboat Smack Down.
We left the dock at a leisurely 7 a. m. Jennings turned north and cranked up the throttles to 6 knots as soon as the large boat chugged out of Rudee Inlet. Terry snatched up six boat rods in the 20-pound class, spooled with 50-pound braided line. He fastened a 250-pound snap swivel at the end of the mainline.
Terry connected two rods and No. 3 and 4 ounce trolling sinkers to his lures to alter their depth. 1 planers to another two. Terry attached a 150-pound-test swivel, a 250-pound snap swivel, and 10 more feet of 40-pound leader to the opposite end of the sinker or planer. A Clark Spoon Squid in sizes 00 to 1 was at the end of the long leader. Terry said, displaying a minnow-sized green-glitter metal lure, “Green is my favorite color.
Terry fished a small bird teaser with a 20-foot leader and a second tiny, green spoon from the fifth rod. A 16-inch piece of 100-pound mono with a few large beads on either side and a 250-pound snap swivel at either end of the short leader were used by Terry to rig the bird.
Terry can add a second rod to his spread thanks to the bird without worrying about tangling his deeper lures. Even though the bird doesn’t get many bites, fish are drawn to other lures in the spread by the teaser’s surface slapping and splashing.
Capt. I observed the early joggers and dog walkers strolling the boardwalk as Jennings drove along the beach. Within a quarter-mile of the surf line, especially in the early morning and late at night, we frequently catch Spanish. We made a circle past the inlet’s mouth, where a number of other boats had begun their day. Spanish is also held by temperature breaks, current lines, live bottom, and bait schools.
Within a short period of time, one of the planer rods began to bounce violently due to the weight of a mackerel. Depending on how the fish surfaced or dove, Terry instructed the angler to reel faster or slower. The rest of the crew held their breath as Jennings slowed the boat in the hopes that the day’s first fish would not swim away.
Terry handlined the fish for a short distance after the planer reached the rod tip, then he swung it over the transom and into the box. Jennings bumped the boat back to trolling speed. The crew soon began taunting and cheering the anglers as they reeled in one Spanish after another.
The most thrilling method for catching Spanish involves casting lures, even though trolling spoons can be a quick and simple way to have fun. I grab a light-action spinning rod and a small spoon or jerkbait when the fish start to fire up and actively feed on schools of bait.
But it can be challenging to catch Spanish with light equipment because the swift fish have keen eyesight and picky tastes. I frequently come across Spanish feeding that I can’t persuade to eat a lure.
Capt. Spanish mackerel, according to Florida charter captain Jim Klopfer, is a neglected hero of nearshore fishing. He targets them with light spinning or fly-fishing tackle. They are among the fastest fish in the sea, he claims, and are aggressive and hard fighters. When prepared freshly, the green, silver, and gold speedsters also taste fantastic.
Klopfer travels a few miles into the Gulf of Mexico in search of mackerel, looking for working birds or slicks that indicate mackerel feeding on tiny minnows. When he locates the fish, he picks up 3000-size reels and 7-foot, fast-action spinning rods that are spooled with 10-pound-test monofilament. He explains, “I prefer monofilament because it stretches when a speeding Spanish strikes.
Again, the right leader helps ensure success. Although the Spanish have keen eyesight, they cannot see heavy leaders or terminal tackles due to their sharp teeth. I use 30-pound fluorocarbon, and I only occasionally lose a lure, he claims.
Lure choice comes down to availability. He states that he prefers a 3 12 inch Bass Assassin soft plastic on a 1/4 ounce jighead. After a Spanish attack, the soft-plastic bait can be easily replaced. Klopfer employs a 7-weight rod, intermediate or floating line, and a white D-fly to pursue the fish on the fly. T. Special fly. “.
Social media star Darcie, also known online as Darcizzle, fishes for a variety of species off Miami on Florida’s east coast. Darcie starts her day with a visit to the tackle store when she is aiming for Spanish.
She laughs, “First thing, I pick up the starter pack of Spanish mackerel.” This includes a 12-pack of Gulfstream Lures Flash Minnows and two blocks of glass-minnow chum.
Makrel bite off a fair share of lures with their razor teeth, so using a heavy enough leader is a constant struggle, the author claims. Darcie starts with No. 4 single-strand wire. She bites the bullet and switches to fluorocarbon if the fish appear fickle.
The best winter fishing is on a reef, though Darcie searches for Spanish at the inlet mouths and along the shore. There will be a lot of boats in the area, so you can find the fish, she says. Darcie uses a medium-action spinning rod and a 3000-size reel to cast at Spanish.
She begins chumming with the glass minnows once she arrives at the Spanish grounds. She says, “I throw a few glass minnows out before every cast.” Soon after, the fish discover the chum, and the brawl begins. The only mistake you can make, she says, is not using enough chum.
Spanish mackerel range from the Gulf Coast to the mid-Atlantic. Few miles from the South Carolina state line, on the North Carolina coast, Captain According to Jot Owens, fishing is a significant component of his business, and his customers enjoy the challenge of using light tackle to catch a speeding mackerel.
Owens has spent his entire life fishing for macks and has witnessed numerous anglers use light tackle improperly. “You can’t work the lure too fast,” he says. Owens suggests cranking the reel hard and keeping the rod tip close to the water to increase hookups.
“I want a reaction bite, so the fastest lure gets the bite,” the fisherman said. In order to work the lure even faster, he recently began using a high-speed spinning reel with a 7-to-1 gear ratio.
Owens makes an effort to avoid feeding fish as much as possible. Longer casts are required because of that, allowing the lure to stay in the water for longer. The majority of the time, he observes, anglers drive their boats through schools. Once the fish spook, the school might not reform.
Spanish mackerel are finicky and quick, and whether trolling, chumming, or sightcasting, they offer heart-pounding action, line-sizzling runs, and enough of a challenge to make any angler respect the fish.
What depth do you troll for mackerel?
Most choose to troll at 5 to 6 Kts and run a variety of colors to see what is popular on a given day.
I hope you enjoy the video entitled “Trolling for Spanish Mackerel off Carolina Beach.” Since our beach has reopened after being severely impacted by COVID-19, I anticipate that our restaurants will reopen before Memorial Day. Have a safe trip everyone, and we hope to see you this summer at Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
Only a few fish were caught off Carolina Beach Inlet at the beginning of the bite due to its slowness. Dan suggested that we head north to Wrightsville Beach so that we can enter their much safer inlet. As we trolled toward the north, the bites appeared to increase somewhat. The seas also appeared to layout and become glassy, making for a pleasant day on the water and a nice catch of Spanish mackerel.
Tackle used 20. rods with Ande 30 lb class custom trolling reels and 12 H Penn International reels test line. A 25′ 30 lb. Sea Striker Planer and a ball bearing swivel are attached to the ring of the planer, respectively. test leader. The lure is a 00 silver Clark spoon. On my fishing trip today, I only cast two lines, one of which is about 10 feet off the starboard side of the boat and the other, my long line, off the port side.
This is crucial: always turn to the right, and the starboard line needs to be shorter so you can make a circle. Off Carolina Beach, North Carolina, this is a proper boat technique used to troll for Spanish Mackerel. C. by the charter and commercial fisherman. The ideal trolling speed for Spanish Mackerel is 6 to 6. 5 knots. You can adjust boat speed also by the bite.
The trip for Spanish mackerel took place on May 16, 2020, with a departure time of around 7:15 am from Carolina Beach Inlet. Here at Carolina Beach, the first named tropical storm Author had generated a bad current that had made the inlet gnarly.
What type of rod do I need for mackerel fishing?
To handle the challenges of feather fishing, we advise using a 10–12 foot rod with a moderately heavy casting weight. We require a 60-sized saltwater fixed-spool reel for the reel. This gives you the cranking power you need to deal with the numerous catches you will unavoidably come across.
FAQ
What depth do you troll for Spanish mackerel?
Trolling is a traditional technique for catching Spanish mackerel from boats. 1 and No. Utilizing trolling weights in sizes ranging from one to three ounces and No. 00 Clark spoons at various depths from the surface to five or six feet deep 1 planers.
How fast should I troll for Spanish?
I would suggest a trolling speed of 4-6 knots, but if you are seeing fish on your sounder but not getting strikes, you can get great results by speeding up to 8 knots.
What is the best time of day to catch Spanish mackerel?
Typically, Spanish mackerel feed aggressively in the morning and again frequently in the late afternoon. They do, however, occasionally become picky eaters once the water warms into the 80s, especially in the middle of the day.
How fast should you go when trolling?
The type of fish, the water’s conditions, and the choice of lure all affect the best trolling speed. In general, trolling speeds between 1. 5 and 2. For most species like walleye, trout, and salmon, 5 mph, as measured by GPS, are a good starting point.
