# Spanish mackerel



## DMC (Nov 28, 2010)

I would like some help on fishing for the spanish. Wife wants to go and I have never fished for them before. I understand they are catching a lot now.
I would be fishing from boat not the bridge.

Thanks


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## chodges (Jan 30, 2011)

go off the beach and look for schools. Should be pretty easy to find. They will eat pretty much any fast moving or twitch bait. Gotcha lure works great.


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## sandman770 (Nov 23, 2010)

Any shiny lure with 6" of wire leader will tear them up. Look for bait busting on the surface and cast into it/on the edges.


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## DMC (Nov 28, 2010)

Thanks for the replys I will just have to give it a try


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## archcycle (Sep 1, 2009)

buy a pile of gotcha plugs. With two people fishing we sometimes lose 4 and sometimes lose 0 but I prefer lighter terminal tackle.

i use 20lb wire leader, tied like this:
http://www.americanfishingwire.com/surfstrand.asp

or if they're small, like everything I saw out there this last weekend, you can get away with 30lb fluorocarbon which will get you better bites. 

When you see them just throw into them and let it sink a moment, pull it in a lot so it zigs up, let it zig back down some, and zig it up again. Reel relatively fast. If it's not moving fast they won't like it. 

You'll usually see birds hitting the water eating what the mackerel are eating in and just outside of the pass. Head for those spots and when you get close turn to go around them. They tend to move a lot so it's often best to leave one person running the boat just idling around them. You don't have to get close enough to hit the middle of the frenzy, just get the boat close enough to get your bait near them, otherwise you'll scare them back under.


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## aboutscubasteve (May 13, 2011)

*McDonald Straw Rig*

WE use the Ol' McDonald Straw Rig, aka Bubble Rig. Works great- and if you make your own, inexpensive.











It is essentially a 2-3' leader with a trebel hook and about a 2 1/2" piece of large drinking straw on one end, and a clear plastic oval teaser "bubble" on the line side seperated by a crimp or swivel and a bead. When retrieved quickly, the plastic float creates a trail of bubbles on top of the water ahead of the lure as it is retrieved, giving the appearance of a fast swimming bait.


See one in action on a large spanish-


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## chicon monster (Mar 7, 2012)

deffinitely use gotchas.


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## grey ghost (Jul 24, 2011)

nice spanish !! great viedo steve!!


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## TOBO (Oct 3, 2007)

Use spec rigs, cheap easy and not as many hooks a gotchas and you will catch them two at a time sometimes as well. Just troll them just inside the second sand bar. Have a big jig ready just in case.


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## Fishermon (Oct 19, 2007)

bring a big cooler with lots of ice..(if ya keeping them) it can get really bloody messy inside a boat. Make sure to bring also a long nose set of pliers, those gotchas can be dangerous...handle with care...when pulling one in (fish) watch for the angle of your rod..gotchas can come loose and projectile back at you or the wife...be really carefull...
safety first...lottsa fun.

i'd say clean/eat same day or the next....since they don't hold that well in the freezer (imo)


Is it 15 you can keep? I forgot what's the regs again?..


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## Boat-Dude (Sep 24, 2011)

lys


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## aboutscubasteve (May 13, 2011)

Fishermon said:


> .... Make sure to bring also a long nose set of pliers, those gotchas can be dangerous...handle with care...when pulling one in (fish) watch for the angle of your rod..gotchas can come loose and projectile back at you or the wife...be really carefull...
> safety first...lottsa fun.
> 
> Is it 15 you can keep? I forgot what's the regs again?..


 
Another good reason to use a McDonald straw rig - only one treble hook to tend to.

Alabama limit on Spanish is 15 per person.

Mike


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## Herknav90 (Mar 22, 2012)

I used to do the same thing...Vacuum seal the bad boys. There are a lot of sites that talk of freezing in water. I have tried it with a cat and a drum I just caught...I'll tell you how this ends up.


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## Har5da43 (Apr 23, 2012)

otherwise you'll scare them back under


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## Dragsmoker (Aug 15, 2011)

You can do a lot. Anything shiny, Clark spoons. Is good for trolling. They are biting on gotcha lures. Make sure you have a wire leader.


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## KingFishin613 (Apr 9, 2012)

mono leaders also work just as well as wire leader it just probally wont last as long. I was using a mono leader yesturday while i was out on the pier and the spanish never bit through it.


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