By Capt. John Kumiski
Their least common but most spectacular strike is the skyrocket. Sometimes you’ll hear a crash and see a large splash. Most of the time, though the reel just starts shrieking like a wounded hyena as line streaks out at an appalling rate. Welcome to the wonderful world of king mackerel fishing!
When the kings show up off Port Canaveral or Ponce Inlet they become accessible to almost anyone with a boat. I get them from my 17 foot flats skiff, not exactly an offshore fishing machine. With the guiding hand of this piece, maybe you can get in on the upcoming season’s action!
When to Catch King Mackerel
King mackerel prefer water temperatures in a range from 68 to 76 degree Fahrenheit. As I write this the water temperature in the Port’s Trident basin is 73 degrees. If everything else were equal, they should be there right now.
Of course, a lot of the time everything else isn’t equal. Sometimes we experienced prolonged bouts of strong winds. If the water’s muddy, the fish won’t be there. If there’s no bait, they won’t be there. But, when the water’s clean, the bait is there, and the water temperature is in the zone, look out!
Where to Catch King Mackerel
Armed with the water temperature information, you’re ready to search for kings. Where do you start to look?
A call or visit to Sunrise Marina at Port Canaveral (321.783.9535), the Fishin’ Store in New Smyrna Beach (386.427.4514), or the Fishin’ Shack in Daytona Beach (386.788.2120) can get you some needed information. Of course the stores also carry tackle items that you may have inadvertently forgotten, such as your stinger rigs.
Out of Port Canaveral, slow trolling along the buoy line is a time-honored method of finding kings. Pelican Flats and the 8A Reef are consistent and well known king mackerel producers. Unfortunately they are far enough out (8A Reef is about 12 miles and Pelican Flats farther than that) that I don’t feel safe going out there in my boat, and can’t recommend the trip for anyone in a boat less than 20 or 21 feet.
But kings come in off the beach sometimes, so close that once in a great while someone gets one from the Cocoa Beach Pier. And when they’re off the beach, finding them is as easy as finding the fleet. Ordinarily the lemming effect fishermen exhibit drives me nuts, but for near shore king mackerel fishing it is by far the easiest way to find them. The same is true off New Smyrna and Daytona Beaches.
Once the word gets out the fish are in the parking lot will be filled with trucks and trailers, and all you need to do is look for the fleet. Simply idle into the area, and deploy your lines.
For more information on where-to, some websites have what you need: http://www.cfecf.com/gps.htm gives you the location of artificial and natural reefs out of Port Canaveral.
Bait often accumulates over reefs, so they are always good places to try.
How to Catch King Mackerel
You’ll need reels that hold at least 300 yards of 30 pound test. I like braid, and it does have advantages, but line type is a personal preference. Reels could be either spin or conventional.
Most folks troll for kings. You can troll spoons such as the venerable Drone, cedar plugs, Japanese feathers, conventional plugs, soft plastic hootchie baits, strip baits, or some combination. All work. But most kings are caught with live bait. Almost all big kings are caught by slow trolling live bait.
Mullet, ribbonfish, and blue runners will all work. But menhaden are the meat and potatoes of the king mackerel crowd. Hook your menhaden front (through the nose) and rear (through the top of the back), using a stinger rig. Some anglers let the rear hook swing free. Then slowly pay it out as you idle through the king mackerel-holding area.
If your boat allows, and you have a downrigger, set out two flatlines and one downrigger line. Stagger the distances by at least ten feet to reduce tangles. The near line could be as close as 30 feet back.
The menhaden needs to swim naturally. They should not be skipping through the waves. If you have an outboard and it moves too fast, trim it up to slow yourself down. Most fishermen set the drags for kings with a light touch, fearing hooks bending or tearing out. The drag needs to be set at least two pounds, measured with a scale. Slightly more might suit you better.
Most people gaff kings once they’re alongside. They can be tailed, carefully, with a gloved hand, though.
Handle kings very carefully. Those teeth can cause serious injury to the careless or unlucky fisherman.
When fishing is hot, it’s easy to kill a lot of fish. Kings have high levels of mercury so you may not want to eat a lot of it, in spite of its deliciousness.
Additionally, it’s an oily fish that does not freeze well. Unless you intend to smoke a bunch, release unharmed any fish you know you can’t use right away.
After you catch a few, you will understand why they are called the King of Mackerel.
The Stinger Rig
A stinger rig is a hook on a wire leader, with a trailing hook attached by a second piece of wire.You’ll see some variety among stinger rigs used by different fishermen. Some use all trebles. Some use all singles. Some use one of each.
Some fishermen use braided wire. Others use singlestrand wire. And different people make the rig different lengths. Do what works for you.
The hook size and length of the stinger both need to fit the size bait you have. Let’s assume the bait is a menhaden between five and six inches long. We are going to use 46 pound singlestrand wire, coffee colored, and 3/0 octopus style hooks.
Take a piece of wire about 20 inches long. Using a haywire twist, attach a hook to one end. On the other end either use another haywire twist to attach a black barrel swivel, or use an Albright special knot to attach a piece of 30 or 40 pound test monofilament. Then make a loop in the mono with either a double surgeon loop or a perfection loop. This end is what you will tie to the end of your line.
Cut another piece of wire 10 to 12 inches long. At one end attach a hook, again using a haywire twist. The other end will be attached to the eye of the first hook, also by means of the haywire twist. The distance between the eyes of the two hooks in your finished rig should be about four inches for that five to six inch bait. If your baits are bigger, you’ll need to make the rig longer, and vice versa.
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