Sea Trail Fishing Club

Fish of the Month, March 2024

Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus)

When – Saturday, March 23, 2024.

Morning session begins at 9:00 AM.

Afternoon session begins at 1:00 PM

Where – Sunset Beach Fishing Pier

Spanish Mackerel are usually one of the first game fish to appear in significant numbers around the Sunset Beach Pier.  They usually start appearing in April, and usually run in significant numbers for 2-4 weeks.  By June their numbers are significantly diminished at the Pier.  However, they can still be caught in local offshore waters.  They are not normally residents of the Intracoastal.

Spanish tend to forage in schools and to travel in tight formations.  They prefer water in the seventy-degree range or warmer.  Therefore, they tend to migrate South when the water temperatures cool in the late Fall. 

Spanish tend to hit a lure or bait hard.  They have excellent vision and are easily spooked.  Spanish are extremely fast swimmers.  They have sharp teeth in the mouth and can inflict a serious bite.  Their teeth also means that lines can often be cut and lures can be frequently lost. 

Per FishRules.com, the current bag limit on Spanish in NC inland waters is 15 fish per day, with a minimum size of 12”.  Fish are measured from the snout to the fork in the tail.

Per information on the Internet, the North Carolina state record for Spanish Mackerel is 13 lbs, 0 ounces caught in Ocracoke Inlet in 1987.  A normal size catch is in the range of 1 to 3 pounds.  The minimum weight for a citation Spanish mackerel in North Carolina is 6 pounds. 

Spanish will hit a variety of baits.  A Sabichi rig is often used on the Sunset Beach Pier to jig for Spanish.  Individual Sabichi rigs may be purchased, or you can make your own.  Spanish mackerel are attracted to the flash of bare hooks on a Sabichi rig and will readily attack it.  A 1-1/2 oz jig is often attached to the end of the Sabichi rig.  These jigs are available in a wide variety of colors.  Spanish can also be attracted to the flash of bare gold hooks and will readily attack them too.  A Gotcha plug will on occasion produce a Spanish bite.  Spanish can also be caught on occasion with live finger mullet hooked through the mouth or live shrimp suspended from a float. 

Minimize the use of extraneous tackle on a rig, as it provides an additional point of failure and could also provide additional attraction in areas where you don’t want it.

A typical jigging rig includes a light/medium action rod, and a Sabichi rig attached to your main line.  If you make your own Sabichi rig, use at least 20 pound test line.  The lighter the line weight, the more lures will be lost because of the fish cutting off the line.  Wire leaders will likely discourage fish strikes because the fish most likely can see the wire leader due to their excellent vision. 

Jigging is usually done fairly close to the Pier.  Lures cast far out from the Pier don’t usually produce more strikes than a lure that is jigged in an up-and-down motion near the Pier.  Let the jig fall to the bottom, and then jig it upward.  Fish will tend to hit on the fall.

The meat on a Spanish mackerel fillet is very fatty and has a strong blood line.  Fish, when caught, should be bled to allow as much blood as possible to bleed out.  Before cooking, cut out the blood line along with the pin bones that are often found near the blood line.  Spanish have tiny scales and thin skin.  The skin is not very palatable and should be removed when cleaning the fish.  A cold fish can be skinned much more easily than a warm fish; put the fish on ice if possible after bleeding it to make the skin removal process easier.

The high fat content gives the Spanish mackerel flesh a pleasant taste.  Fillets can be broiled, baked, or breaded and fried.

Class demonstrations:

• Tying your own Sabichi rig
• Jigging method
• Typical rod/reel/lure setup

Credits:

1. The Southern Surfcaster, S. Cameron Wright, c. 2012, published by the History Press, pages 95-96
2. www.fishrules.com
3. Internet