Fishing doesn’t get much more exhilarating than when you hear your reel sing, as line peels off the moment a hungry spanish mackerel hits your lure and tears away with it. Spaniards are speedsters of the sea and are well known for their explosive, initial run which can quickly strip your spool. This species exerts most of their energy hitting your lure and on their first run, putting your gear and knots to the ultimate test. Any runs directly following are generally less powerful as the mackerel starts to tire and most anglers will then gain the upper hand, with normally just a few smaller runs to follow. To ensure there is no gear failure quality reels with a smooth drag are recommended. Large spools are not necessarily required, so the Stella, Stradic and Saragosa’s in the 4000 to 6000 range are what I would use for casting lures. These reels teamed up with a Shimano Terez rod have been great combination for myself when targeting pelagics.
This apex predator is made for hunting with their streamlined bodies. Their most distinctive feature is the vertical bans running along the side of their bodies, making identification easy from other species of mackerel. This species is most prevalent in warmer waters, travelling the Australian coastline following currents on the hunt for schools of bait. They often feed around structure, patches of reef and drop offs. One of our favourite spots to target them is up against a reef where there is a sudden drop off of eighteen metres. In this area bait fish get push there with the tidal movement making the perfect conditions for this predator to pursue bait.
When sounding to identify potential drop offs look at contour maps first with lines that seem to get pinched together. This will likely be an area where the depths change quite quickly. These areas must also have current so the bait will get pushed there and attract the mackerel. Investing the time to sound around does pay off. One of our most successful spots we target spanish mack, we always have to ourselves. Boats just steam past us travelling out to deeper water, not knowing what lies beneath. It is always worth having a lure out the back when moving around because you never know where you will come across a spanish mackerel on the hunt. The visual experience of seeing a mighty spaniard erupting from the water and smashing a lure being trolled behind a boat, is a sight most anglers won’t forget. Even to witness these aggressive feeders explode out of the water from under bait to great heights will take your breath away.
Currents are extremely important to look for especially if there is not much structure around. Lines of weed or discoloured water help to find currents if there is no apparent signs. We like a trolling speed around 7 knots but we vary our speed if there is no hook ups, increasing and decreasing speed until the right range is found. Allow for the strength of the current and wind and how it may be affecting our ability to stay at a steady pace. While trolling don’t be afraid to rotate through your lures until you find the particular one working on the day. You also never know what amazing by catch will take an interest in your lure, species such as cobia, tuna and trevally often hit trolled lures.
They say the early bird gets the worm and we couldn’t agree more. We love to be on the water early to see the first rays of light hit the water. As you are heading out to your grounds ensure you are scouting your surroundings too, watch the ocean surface and look for diving birds. As mentioned trolling is one option if you witness this but also casting a stick bait into bait schools. This is an exciting way to target them. I don’t always stick to the rule” match the hatch’ and I find something a little larger than the bait they are feeding on, often attracts their eye. I always have my seven foot rod with my Shimano Stella 4000 rigged up at all times in case I come across such scenarios. The Shimano Ocea stick bait range has proven deadly for this, especially the ones incorporating the flash boost technology. When it travels through the water the lure imitates a wounded bait fish and gives off sparkling flashes. The jet boost mechanism available in these lures helps in casting, this especially helpful to us as we need to race towards bust ups but need to ensure we stay enough back as not to disrupt them.
In fact the largest spaniard I have ever hooked was on this smaller combo, I saw the tinniest water disturbance. Bait had been pushed up to the surface but there wasn’t any visible attacking fish so I knew a predator could have been lurking below, I cast in the direction of the splash. I had a sinking lure that day, so I allowed the lure to work its way down through the water column before I started a fast retrieval, next thing my Shimano Stella 4000 had line peeling from it at a blistering pace. I was not confident it was a spanish mackerel because of the length and power of the first run. I actually wasn’t sure what I had hooked. We had to give chase with the tinny, when I started to get low on my spool. After an incredible battle against a formidable opponent, I most absolutely blown away by the size of the mackerel which I had pulled from noticing a small water disturbance.
When targeting spanish mackerel people do prefer wire trace. I instead I like to use approximately 1 to 2 metres of sixty pound leader connected to thirty pound braid with an improved Albright knot. All up I haven’t lost many mackerel that managed to sink their teeth into my leader. When trolling a lure we tie it on using a loop knot and will have around 2 to 3 metres of 80lb leader. I use a five foot overhead rod, with a Shimano Talica 12 reel. The Talica 12 is one of my favourite reels to go into battle with. I love the cranking power, which when fishing in Western Australia is often needed to get your fish passed hungry sharks. While bottom bouncing or casting lures it can pay to have an unweighted bait out the back of the boat. Using a garfish or a blue mackerel rigged up on gangs, have it floating around to try and attract a spanish mackerel, live baits if available are always good as well.
Preparation is important when bringing a mighty mack over the side of your boat. A cranky mack thrashing around on the deck with their razor teeth can do serious injury. It can also be an expensive day on the water if they damage your gear. We learnt this the hard way as a mack smashed its tail onto our rods lying horizontally in rod holders, snapping one in half. We have also nearly lost rods over the side when a mack thrashing on the deck had its tail hit a rod in an upwards motion. We try not to bring this particular species in green for our safety and to look after our gear but unfortunately we don’t always have that choice when sharks are in hot pursuit of our catch. We have had a decent mack launch itself out of the water trying to escape sharks. We were lucky to escape with no serious injuries as the mack flew between us both scraping my leg as it past and landing in the side storage pocket of our tinny. In this case and when bringing any mackerel aboard we find a wet towel thrown over their head calms them quickly.
Spanish mackerel fishing is one of the most exciting species to target. These speedsters certainly don’t disappoint and will get your adrenaline pumping. They are a good table fish if despatched quickly and put on an ice slurry.