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by Capt. Danny Stasny | Be the first to comment
Despite the scorching rays of the sun making outdoor activities feel like an eternity, fishing around Anna Maria Island remained consistent for yet another week.
And with the arrival of large schools of bait throughout the bay, it’s time to add a new species to the roster.
The large schools of hatch bait attract many species to the dinner table and one of the most apparent is Spanish mackerel.
As we progress through the summer and into early fall, we should see greater numbers of this popular fish in Tampa Bay. You’ll be able to find macks with little effort as long as you take my tip. It’s as easy as locating the bait schools. If you can find the bait, you can find the macks. Once you found the macks, catching them can be exciting, as they are a high-speed voracious fish that’s willing to strike at anything that resembles a small shiner.
You can go right to the source and use live shiners, just remember to use a long shank hook, as a mack’s teeth are unforgiving on a fluorocarbon leader. The obvious solution for this dilemma is to use a steel leader, but you may find your hookup ratio goes way down — these fish will see the steel leader and will turn off a bait. They are known to take a variety of artificials. Silver spoons, small jigs and Gotcha plugs are excellent choices for targeting mackerel.
Ultimately, you’re better off carrying an ample supply of terminal tackle. Whether it’s artificials or hooks, you need to have plenty on hand.
What’s nice about macks is you don’t need to have a boat to catch them. Fishing from bridges, the shoreline along the passes and at local piers will suffice as long as the baits schools are present.
One of the best places to target macks is at the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria. With an armload of gear and a short walk out to the end of the pier, you can be casting and catching within minutes.
There are advantages to fishing at the R&R. For one, if you run out of hooks or lures, they sell tackle. Secondly, there’s a service bar, where you can get out of the sun and enjoy a soda or a cold beer and also a bite to eat. Remember to stay hydrated in the August heat.
Once you’ve caught some mackerel, you may wonder about what to do with them. If you’re planning on keeping them for dinner, I suggest keeping them on ice until you’re ready to fillet the fish. Cutting the throat and bleeding them when they’re caught is not a bad idea either.
And, only keep what you think you can eat in one meal, as macks are best eaten the day they are caught. They become strong-flavored over time and the flavor is fishy — at that point, the macks are best suited as shark bait.
Although the daily limit for Spanish mackerel is 15 per person, you might not need to keep that many. The minimum size is 12 inches from the nose to the fork of the tail. You’ll also want to evaluate this as most macks under 15 inches to the fork don’t have much meat on them. So hold out for larger fish for your cooler.
On my Just Reel charters, I’m seeing good action on spotted seatrout while working the deeper grass flats in Tampa Bay. Many are falling 13-14 inches, which is just under the minimum size of 15 inches, but the sheer numbers of catches are making up for the lack of keeper fish.
There are other species mixed in with the trout bite, including the macks, ladyfish, small sharks and some tasty mangrove snapper.
Targeting snook along the shallow flats is consistent, with most hookups falling between 20-30 inches.
Capt. David White was still catching limits of American red snapper on his offshore charters in the Gulf of Mexico, before the summer season for the fishery closed Aug. 1. Frozen sardines worked well as bait when fished on a bottom rig. Most snapper catches were occurring in depths exceeding 150 feet of water. Red grouper were being caught in those areas, too.
Moving inshore, targeting mangrove snapper and catch-and-release snook is proving to be the best action for clients. Some juvenile tarpon also are taking a hook along deeper grass flats for a fun fight.
Capt. Jason Stock is back from vacation, focusing his time trolling for pelagic species while working offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. This technique is resulting in a variety of species, including kingfish, blackfin tuna and bonito. Lucky anglers are hooking into an occasional wahoo. Bottom fishing is producing great action. Limits of big American red snapper are being caught, as well as red grouper and yellowtail snapper.
Jim Malfese at the Rod & Reel Pier is seeing vast amounts of hatch bait schooling around the perimeter of the pier. For those in the know, this means Spanish mackerel will follow. Casting speck rigs, silver spoons and Gotcha plugs into Tampa Bay is resulting in numerous hookups with these popular toothy fish.
On light spinning gear, the macks are thrilling to have on your line. An abundance of high-speed drag-screaming runs propelled by their large tails makes them highly enjoyable for anglers. And they’re not bad table fare as long as you’re icing them down and putting them in the fry pan within hours.
Other catches at the R&R include mangrove snapper, redfish and catch-and-release snook — all taking live shrimp.
Capt. Warren Girle is catching a wide variety of species while fishing the flats of Sarasota Bay. Spotted seatrout are being caught frequently while working the deeper grass flats in depths of 5-8 feet. Mixed in with the trout are macks, mangrove snapper and an occasional juvenile tarpon. In fact, Girle had one tarpon recently that was near 60 pounds.
Fishing shallower flats for redfish and snook is working well. The snook are the most apparent bite in the shallows with an occasional redfish mixed in.
Lastly, Girle says working the artificial reefs in the Gulf of Mexico is resulting in mangrove snapper and juvenile grouper, as well as a few over-slot snook for his anglers.
Send high-resolution photos and fishing reports to fish@islander.org.
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