November is the perfect month to run the West Central Gulf Coast beaches looking for diving birds. The usual reward – thousands of Spanish Mackerel schooled up, feasting on bay anchovies. These fish gorge themselves on this plentiful bait late into Fall and make it easy to fill the box with meat. I make this run each year to make smoked fish dip.
The easiest way to fill your cooler with Spanish mackerel is to run the beach, sometimes just off the swim buoys, sometimes nearshore, until you find diving birds. You’ll see the Macks skipping around, as they gorge themselves on bait. Light to medium spin tackle, 50-pound test mono leader (to keep from getting broken off by these toothy fish) and a silver spoon is all you need. Cast into a school, retrieve the spoon quickly, and you’ll almost always hook up. Not only is this an easy and fun way to catch these guys, Macks are notorious for being hard-fighting speedsters.
The other tried and true method of catching them is to anchor up in about 10 to 15 feet of water off the beach, soak a chum block a few feet away from the boat, and wait for the fish to come to you. Using store-bought live shrimp or white bait you’ve netted yourself; Mackerel will destroy almost anything that moves around the chum block. This will usually bring in bigger fish than the run-and-gun method and will often bring a cobia to your chum slick. It’s always smart to have a few pinfish in your live well, in case a big cobia shows up.
Be sure to put these fish on ice as you catch them, because the flesh is soft and can become mushy if allowed to get too warm. At the cleaning table, leave their thin skin on, as it will mostly cook away in the smoker. A pellet smoker or charcoal grill will both do the trick. If you don’t have a dedicated smoker, soak wood chips in water, drain, wrap in tinfoil packets, throw on top of the coals and you’re done. Lay tinfoil across the grates, so the meat doesn’t fall through. Four hours is good (remember, the smoke is cooking the fish, not the flame). The internet is filled with fantastic fish dip recipes that will turn your smoked mackerel into a culinary delight!