SPANISH MACKEREL Order - Perciformes
(Scomberomorus maculatus) Family - Scombridae
Genus - Scomberomorus
Species - maculatus
Spanish Mackerels are members of the large family of fish that include the Tunas and other Mackerels. Although these fish vary
greatly in size, they share many common characteristics including being very fast, powerful swimmers. The average size of Spanish
Mackerel is from 2-3 pounds, while a weight of 9-10 pounds is considered large.
Spanish Mackerels are considered coastal pelagic fin fish, forming immense, fast-moving schools that range the open seas of the
Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the Gulf of Mexico. In the late summer and early fall this species migrates southward to spend the
winter and early spring along Florida's southern coast. Spanish Mackerels do not appear to move freely around the Florida Keys,
creating separate Gulf and Atlantic populations.
Common Names
The English language common names for this species are Atlantic spanish mackerel, horse mackerel, spotted mackerel, Spaniard,
spotted cybium and Spanish mackerel.
Geographical Distribution
Spanish mackerel are found in the subtropical and tropical
waters off North America and the Caribbean. They are locally
found along the Atlantic coast from as far north as Nova Scotia
(Canada) and south to Florida along the Gulf of Mexico (US).
Florida is considered to be the area with the highest abundance
of Spanish mackerel.
- Habitat
Spanish mackerel are epipelagic, residing at depths ranging from 33-115 feet . They are often found in very large schools near the
surface of the water. They frequent barrier islands and the passes associated with these islands and are rarely found in low salinity
waters. Spanish mackerel larvae occur mostly offshore while juvenile mackerels are found both offshore and in the beach surf.
Migrating over large distances close to shore, Spanish mackerel in the Atlantic Ocean follow the coastline northward during the
warmer summer months and back in the autumn and winter months to waters off Florida. There are some populations of this fish in
the Gulf of Mexico that migrate westwards in the early spring to waters off Texas. This species also migrates along the coast of
Mexico southward between August and November and then northward again in March and April.
- Water Temperature
Prefer a water temperatures above 68° F.
They show up in the spring when the water
temperature off the beach goes through
70 degrees, with the 72 - 73 degree range
marking the best fishing.
- Size, Age, and Growth
Most Spanish Mackerel you will catch
around Destin will be 2 to 3 pounds.
However, they can reach an average size
of 8 - 11 lbs. The Florida state record is
12 pounds while the world record is 13
pounds (North Carolina). The maximum
reported length of this species is 35.8
inches in Florida. Juvenile Spanish
mackerel grow rapidly and then start to
slow as they reach age 5 for males and
age 6 for females. Size at sexual maturity
varies between areas and sex . The oldest
Spanish mackerel sampled was 11 years
for females and 10 years for males.
- Food Habits
Spanish Mackerel tend to feed on the smallest bait fish available which is usually glass minnows. However, the diet of adult Spanish
mackerel consists primarily of smaller fish such as herrings, menhaden, jacks, mullet, anchovy, and sardines. This mackerel is also
known to feed in lesser quantities on shrimp, crabs, squid and cephalopods. Feeding Spanish mackerel are often seen forcing
schools of small fish into tight bundles and nearly pushing them out of the water.
- IDENTIFICATION
The Spanish mackerel has a fusiform (tapered at both ends) body and a pointed snout which is much shorter than the rest of the
head. Their slender bullet-shaped bodies are blue and silver, spotted with golden yellow or olive ovals. There are two closely spaced
dorsal (top) fins. The first dorsal fin has 17 to 19 spines and originates above the pectoral fin base while the second dorsal fin has 17-
20 rays. The caudal (bottom) fin is falciform (curved, sickle shaped) .
The Spanish mackerel is much smaller
than its relative, the king mackerel.
However, juvenile king mackerels and
spanish mackerel can be misidentified.
The spanish mackerel can be
distinguished from juvenile king
mackerels by their lateral lines and the
first dorsal fin coloration:
- LATERAL LINE: The King
mackerel's lateral line drops abruptly
below the second dorsal fin. The
lateral line of the Spanish mackerel
slopes gradually down toward the
tail.
SPANISH MACKEREL LATERAL LINE KING MACKEREL LATERAL LINE
The front third of the Spanish
Mackerel's first dorsal fin is black.
PICTURE COMING
The Spanish mackerel is distinguished from the cero mackerel (Scomberomorus regalis) by yellow-gold spots on its sides (versus the
cero's yellow-gold streaks along the midline from pectoral fin to tail. However, the cero mackerel is not normally found in the Destin
area.
Spanish mackerel have no swim bladder and the body is covered with small silvery scales. They also lacks scales on the pectoral
fins except at the bases as does the king mackerel.
The Spanish mackerel is iridescent blue-green
along the dorsal (top) surface and silver along
the sides of the body. There are approximately
three rows of large dark elliptical brown and
brassy spots along the sides of the body. The
number of spots increases with increasing fork
length of the mackerel The front third of the
first dorsal fin is dark in color.
- Teeth
The Spanish mackerel has relatively large
sharp teeth that are triangular in shape and
are arranged in a single row around their
jaw. These teeth can easily bite through
small monofilament leaders. There are
patches of teeth found on top of their mouth
also.
- Reproduction
Spanish mackerel have separate male and female sexes which produce milt and roe (respectively) during reproduction. The gametes
are broadcast into the water column and fertilization is external. Spawning occurs from mid-spring through summer. Juvenile Spanish
mackerel use estuaries and nearshore, open-beach waters as nursery areas. The eggs are buoyant, round in shape and transparent.
Hatching has been documented to occur within 25 hours at 79 degrees Fahrenheit . The larvae feed on larval fishes such as
carangids, clupeids, and engraulids as well as some crustaceans.
- Predators
Adult Spanish mackerel are commonly preyed upon by larger pelagic fish including sharks and tunas as well as bottlenose dolphins
while larvae and juveniles are fed on by other immature fishes such as dolphinfish and tuna.
- Parasites
This fish is commonly described as infested with a variety of parasitic organisms. The Myxozoan parasite Kudoa crumenacan be
found in the muscle tissue of Spanish mackerel. Cestodes including Callitetrarhynchus gracilis, Pseudolacistorhynchus noodti, and
Otobothrium cysticum are also known parasites of this fish. The trematodes Scomberocotyle scomberomori, Pseudaxine mexicana,
Thoracocotyle crocea, and Lithidocotyle acanthophallus have been documented as parasites found in the gills of the Spanish
mackerel
State Waters: The state of Florida regulates fishing in the Gulf of Mexico waters out to 9 nautical miles from the Florida Gulf
coastline. (Info only: Alabama state waters only go out to 3 nm)
As of Jan 1, 2010: Minimum 12” fork length for Spanish Mackerel
Maximum 15 Spanish Mackerel per fisherman per day
Transfer of Spanish Mackerel to other vessels at sea is prohibited.
Must remain in whole condition until landed ashore (heads & tails intact)
For more information, click on:
Federal Waters: The US Government, throught NOAA and its Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, (Gulf Coast Council link)
, regulates fishing in the Gulf of Mexico waters from 9 nautical miles off the coast of Florida out to 200 nautical miles from the coast.
As of Jan 1, 2009, their rules coincide with Floridas: Minimum 12" fork length with a maximum of 15 spanish mackerel per day limit per
fisherman.
Spanish Mackerel are a good fighting fish that inhabits the Destin waters from about late March to October. It is a schooling fish,
migrating north along the west coast of Florida in the spring as it follows the pods of bait fish. They start to show up in the Destin area
when the water temperature reaches around 65-70 degrees, and are in full swing when the water temperature is around 72 degrees.
Historically, you will usually start to see them just off the beaches and around the jetties and Okaloosa Pier in late March, with the
migration in full swing by mid-April.
In April, they will start to enter the
Choctawhatchee Bay, especially on an
incoming tide, and can be found schooling
around the east and north end of Crab
Island just north of the Destin Bridge.
Trolling around the break between the bay
waters and the incoming tide is usually
productive. Throughout the summer, they
can be found within a few miles of the surf
and in the Choctawhatchee Bay.
The jetties are a good place to catch Spanish from the shore. You want to be there when the water is either moving in or out, usually
about an hour after a low or high tide. Look for bait on the surface.
Fishing for Spanish from the Spur jetty, east side of the A school of bait busting the surface in the Destin
Destin East Pass channel East Pass. Spanish will probably be around and
under this school.
The Okaloosa County Pier is an excellent place to catch Spanish. Spring is usually your best bet (April and May) but they may be
caught there until October. Normally, the times around sunrise and sunset are your best times. But, Spanish are a schooling fish and
will come by the pier any time during the day.
Fishing off the end of the Okaloosa Island Pier Spanish Mackerel caught on the end of the
Okaloosa Pier with a Gotcha.
Hauling in a Spanish Mackerel on the Panama City Spanish Mackerel caught on a bubble &
pier McDonald's straw rig.
TROLLING TACKLE AND RIGGING:
REEL: I use a Penn 320GTi or Penn 113H for trolling. Really kinda heavy for the Spanish but trolling takes its toll on a spinning
reel/rod. A medium to heavy spinning reel/rod will work too, but you put a lot of stress on it pulling the weight.
Penn 320 Gti Penn 113 H
ROD: I use the same boat rod I use for bottom fishing, a 6' to 7' medium to heavy rod.
MAIN LINE: Anything 20# or above is fine, braid or monofilament. I use the same rod/reel for bottom fishing, so they are usually
rigged with either 40 or 60 # braid, a little overkill for spanish again, but don't have to take extra rods.
TROLLING SINKERS & PLANERS: When trolling, I start fishing the water column from the surface to about 5' beneath the surface.
You may have to go down to up to 20' during mid day. To get your lure down, use either a trolling sinker or a planer. I prefer the
trolling sinker as they are just simpler to use for me, but either is ok. Planers will normally get your lure deeper. When using either
one, remember the more line you let out, the deeper it will go. And, with planers, the faster you go, the deeper the planer will go. Both
put considerable stress on your rod and reel. I will normally use a 2 to 4 oz trolling sinker or a #1 Sea Striker planer.
TROLLING SINKER WITH SEA STRIKER BRAND PLANER.
BUILT IN SWIVEL
SWIVELS: If your trolling sinker or planer does not have a swivel, you need to put on a 100# BLACK swivel between your main line
and leader.
LEADERS: You will need a leader for two reasons. First, the Spanish have a nice set of teeth and cut through small diameter line.
Two, Spanish have excellent eyesight.
FLUORCARBON: I prefer to use 40 # flurocarbon leader.
It has better abrasion resistance than monofilament and is supposely invisible
in the water. I normally start with about a 5' length of fluorcarbon. Some
people say use a much longer leader, up to 20', to get the lure away from
the swivel. They are probably correct, but I have found the longer leaders are
just a burden to handle as you have to hand line the leader in once your
sinker/planer reaches your rod tip. Plus, it is expensive. Like I said, start with
a 5' length of line - just stretch your arms out and take what that gives you,
no reason to be engineer precise here. As you catch fish, you want to check
your leader between fish for abrasions, cuts, etc due to mis-strikes. Do this
by running your leader line between your finger tips and you will feel any cuts,
etc. Cut off the bad part and retie your lure until you get down to say 2' - 3'
leader left, then go to a new leader.
MONOFILAMENT: My next choice of leader material would
be 40 to 60 # monofilament line. Cheaper than fluorcarbon and works.
WIRE: My last choice for a leader for Spanish would be wire.
However, if you are concerned about cutoffs, wire would be called for and you
will lose less lures. I prefer to use the single strand Malin wire, coffee color,
# 4 - 40 lb or # 5 - 43 lb is fine. Make sure you use a haywire twist to attach the
wire to your swivel. I would only use a 3' length of wire. For more information on
working with wire leaders, go to: LEADERTEC
LURES & BAIT: I normally only use artificial lures when trolling for Spanish. Just less trouble and readily available. However, you
can slow troll live or dead bait. Probably the two most popular lures in the Destin area for trolling for Spanish are the Gotcha plug and
Clark Spoons.
GOTCHA PLUGS: A standard for catching Spanish mackerel (and bluefish) in this area. Some people don't like to fool with
the 2 treble hooks (If you use Gotchas, it is just a matter of time before one catches you) but they are a proven lure for Spanish. I
prefer the Chrome ones, either red or green head,
1600 series, 7/8 oz, 2 5/8" length. They have come out with a shorter Gotcha that is
also good. An advantage of the Gotcha over the spoon is that they have some weight
to them and can be casted. Sea Striker makes the Gotcha, go to their site for more
information on them: Sea Striker Lures
CLARK SPOONS: Another standard for catching Spanish makerel without the hassle of all those treble hooks. But they are
very light weight and you normally need a trolling sinker, planer, or bubble rig with them. Normal
sizes used for Spanish are 00, 0, and 1, with the size
increasing as the number goes up. Normally use silver
ones. For more information on Clark spoons, go to
CLARK SPOONS.
YOZURI DEEP DIVER CRYSTAL MINNOW LURE: This is a relatively new lure that can be effective against Spanish
Mackerel when trolling. The advantage it has is that you do
not need a trolling sinker or planer to use it as it uses a lip on the plug as a
type of planer. It will reach depths of 20 feet, depending on the trolling speed,
and has a tight wiggling action that matches the motion of a swimming forage
fish. The 3/8 oz, 3 5/8" Blue/silver, Tenn shad, or red head one mimic the size and color of the local baitfish also. The draw back is
that at $ 10 to $12.00 each, you don't want lose too many. For more information, go to: YOZURI DEEP DIVER CRYSTAL MINNOW
BUBBLE RIGS: While you want to get some lures down into the water column, its is also good to run something on top. A
popular local way to do this is to put a Gotcha or Clark Spoon behind a Bubble Rig. These rigs are good for trolling and casting. The
bubble rig leaves a trail of bubbles behind it, mimicing a wounded bait fish.
MACKEREL RIGS: Another popular lure for trolling are the multi-lure Mackerel Rigs. Put behind a trolling sinker or bubble rig,
they are very effective. I prefer the silverside ones, again, trying to match the local bait. Half Hitch tackle normally has them.
Trolling techniques and tips.....
Boat Speed: 4 - 8 knots
Normally use only 2 rods out, just easier to manage.
Let out about 50 to 100 ' of line and place your rod in a rod holder as you will get considerable pull from the rig. The more line you let
out, the deeper the lure will go.
LOOK FOR THE DIVING BIRDS as they are feeding on bait fish and there are generally other predator fish (spanish makerel) feeding
on the bait fish too. The spanish will generally be under the bait fish.
You do not want to troll through a school as this will spook them and they will go down in the water column. Instead, troll the outside
of the school, with a lot of line out so that the lures go into the front of the school and the boat stays out of it, or you'll drive them down.
Íf you get a fish, you want to turn around and troll back through the same area.
TECHNIQUES AND RIGS FOR CATCHING SPANISH
- - - CASTING - - -
REEL:
I like to use a light weight reel, say a Penn 450 or 550 or equivalent if you are just throwing lures. A 450 might be a little
small for some of the bigger spanish. If you are throwing a bubble rig, you need something heavier to handle the additional weight - I
would go up to a Penn 650 or even 750 spinner. Bait casters work good too, I just never learned to use them very well.
ROD:
Any good 7-9 ' spinning rod will be fine, with a little heavier rod for the bubble rigs.
MAIN LINE
I go with 20 # monofilament.
SWIVELS:
Optional, some people prefer not to use swivels as they think the Spanish will hit them too. If you do use a swivel, make sure
it is black, not shiny.
LEADERS:
I use a 40 # fluorocarbon leader. Start with about 5 'of leader. Run your finger tips down it ever so often to check for nicks
and cuts from their teeth. If you find one, cut it off above the nick and retie your lure to the new end. I just keep cutting it shorter until I
reach about 2', then put another 5' leader on and start the process over. If you go with shorter leaders, its ok, just have to replace
them a lot more often.
LURES:
GOTCHAS:
My favorite lure for Spanish is the Gotcha as you do not have to use any additional weight. I use two techniques for working the
Gotcha.
Rapid Retrieve: Most people just toss it out toward a school, let it sink maybe a few seconds and do a rapid retrieve
with a few jerks now and then.
Slow Jig: I used to always do the fast retrieve too until one day out on the Okaloosa Pier, wasnt having much luck with
it. A small Japanese lady came out to the end, put a stool down to stand on, and started fishing. And bringing in the Spanish while no
one else was catching any. So, I stopped and watched her. She would throw the silver gotcha out and let it sink to the bottom, maybe
10-15 second wait. Then, she would start a slow retrieve by making maybe two cranks, a jerk on the rod tip, then let it settle for a few
seconds. She would keep doing this all the way back in, kinda jigging it up. She left after about an hour with about 6 fish. I tried it and
it worked. Most of the spanish were near the bottom, and it was in the middle of the day.
BUBBLE RIGS: These are good for the pier and jetties. You really have to be careful on the pier with them. Tip them with a
Gotcha, Clark Spoon, or straw. You normally want to use a fast retrieve with a bubble rig.
GENERAL TIPS FOR CATCHING SPANISH MACKEREL
Spanish Mackerel are said to have exceptionally good eyesight and prefer clear water as they are sight feeders.
THE BLOOD LINE
Just a note about preparing Spanish Mackerel fillets. I really like the meat on a Spanish, but you have to cut out the "blood line". This
is a dark red line of bloody tissue that run
down the side of the spanish.
To the right, you see a side of a filleted
spanish. The blood line is the line of white
dots (actually bone) surrounded by a
darker red meat.
Take your knife and cut down at a 45 degree
angle away from the bone on both sides of
the fillet. (The blood line gets thicker as it
gets nears the outer skin.)
Once you have done this for both sides,
you will get something like this. The blood
line is the one in the middle. You can
freeze these and use them for bait later.
The other two fillets are ready to be
cooked. I usually leave the skin on.
Techniques and rigs for catching Spanish Mackerel . . . . . . Trolling |
Spanish Mackerel |
Rules and Regulations governing Spanish Mackerel |
Catching Spanish Mackerel in the Destin area |