A lot of times, Spanish mackerel do not get the recognition or attention they deserve. November can be a great month, as the water temperatures drop into the magical temperatures of the mid 70’s. This is when everything seems to put on the feed bag, before the cold snaps start shutting many of the fish down.
Snook trout and redfish on the flats along with the migratory species like kingfish, Spanish mackerel, and cobia are in the Bay and off the beaches of Pinellas County.
Inshore, redfish will become a primary target along with speckled trout and, with the water temperatures dropping, king mackerel will show up along with more Spanish mackerel. Both will inhabit nearshore, beaches, bridges, reefs, and wrecks inside the Bay and offshore. The kingfish does draw a lot of attention, especially with the high dollar kingfish tournaments that happen at this time of year and in the spring when we have the same water temps. One of my favorites and most sought-after kingfish tournaments would have to be the Old Salt King of the Beach tournament.
This is where the Spanish mackerel can be forgotten, but they are a fun adversary on light tackle. They are a drag screaming, speeding missile of a fish with explosive top water strikes! Many times, you can locate them because of their topwater explosions while feeding on bait balls. Look for the birds to be working these same schools of baitfish, which should make it easier to spot from a long distance. This tactic of going from bait school to bait school is called running and gunning. As you get closer, you might even see some mackerel free jumping out of the water as they attack these baitfish. The baitfish typically are threadfin, scaled sardines, or glass minnows. When they all start feeding, it will look like white water erupting. Do not run right up to it on the big motor, because this will usually push them down–sometimes the frenzy is on fire to where they don’t care.
Using artificials like a 1/2 to 3/4-ounce gold or silver spoon with a 6 to 8-inch piece of #3 or #4 wire and a black swivel will help avoid cut offs. High quality swivels will help stop line twist. Be sure to use a black swivel and not a gold or silver swivel. Shiny swivels become targets that the mackerel will bite off.
Another fun way to fish for mackerel is to set up next to bridges like Gandy or the Skyway bridge, range or channel markers holding bait, grass flat drop offs, and right off the beaches just outside the swim buoys, using live scaled sardines. There, you can put out a chum block or two, which will bring the mackerel to you. At the same time, you can cut pieces of bait fish into the water to sweeten the attraction while throwing live chummers in the water for some great action. A 1/0 hook on 6 to 8 inches of wire with a swivel and a live scaled sardine is all you need to enjoy the mackerel action.