May is a great month to get out and go fishing. The Spanish mackerel bite should be in full swing by now. Mackerel seem to be on the tongue of every angler these days and rightly so. These huge bait assassins usually are all over the Bay, dining on the many sardine and threadfin schools moving into the Bay. So, if you’re looking for some exciting, rod bending and drag screaming action, take the family, and especially the kids, mackerel fishing. You’ll have them hooked on fishing forever. Don’t be surprised if you might run into a shark or two, like the one pictured that Capt. Kevin Overstreet’s clients caught on a recent mackerel trip.
The teeth on these big mackerel are many and sharp, and that’s why I use 50 to 60-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and shiny long-shank Daiichi hooks. This time of year, you should consistently catch the giants topping the scales between 3 to 7 pounds. These big fish can practically snatch a rod right out of your hand, especially if you take a little snooze with your bait in the water. However, once you recover from the initial shock, you will look down and see half your fishing line is gone and realize the rest is on the way out. If you’re lucky enough to recover in time before the fish cuts your leader, you might get your line back and land one for supper.
Mackerel are excellent table fare, especially when cooked on the Bar-B-Que grille. All I do is sprinkle each fillet with a small amount of garlic salt and place them skin side down on aluminum foil for 20 minutes on low heat or until they flake with a fork. Just remember to pull the meat away from the center bloodline, or you can remove it when cleaning.