St. Pete Report By: Capt. Anthony Corcella

Get your Mack On In Tampa Bay

Mackerel season is here–time to fire up the smoker! The best time to slam these guys is May through September. I have a few tricks and tips for you guys to get your Mack on.

I like to stay around the grass flats and get the water chummed up with small cut baits such as threadfin herring and ladyfish. Also, if you want to throw a chum block out, this will bring in the macks and other fish as well such as sharks, cobia and trout.

In regards to tackle, I prefer to go light. I like using the Penn 3500ssv with 15-pound Spiderwire blue camo braid on a 7-foot Star Rod Stellar Lite medium action rod. For the leader, I’m a big fan of 25-pound Mamoi diamond fluorocarbon. Steel leader works well and will prevent break offs, but you will find out that you will get better results with the fluorocarbon.

To actually target these fish, I like to free line a small piece of cut bait, but I will also use corks with a 2-foot leader.  As for hooks, I feel that Owner is the way to go. The size and style I like to go with is 3/0 or 4/0 all-purpose bait hook–the longer the shaft the better (to prevent cutoffs).

For those of you who like using lures, Sea Striker’s Gotcha plugs produce the best. Use the same leader with a loop knot to give it a better swimming action.

This is also the time of year for cobia, so there’s a chance you could snag one if you throw a pinfish under a cork out the back of the boat. Put these tips to use and you’ll set yourself up for some great springtime fishing!