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Ol' Mack Is Back

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By FRANK SARGEANT

Tribune correspondent

Published: October 12, 2008

They come like a gray river flowing through the sea.
Spanish mackerel by the hundreds of thousands are beginning their annual migration, a journey that takes them some 400 miles from the Florida Panhandle to the Keys, and for many several hundred miles more back up the east coast before they make the return trip in spring.

The movement is inspired by baitfish migrations, which are inspired by cooling water. As the water temperature drops below 75, the baitfish pour southward, and Spanish - along with kings, bluefish, bonito and a bit of everything else - pursue them.

Mackerel numbers appear to have increased dramatically since gill-netting ended in 1995, and the limit for recreational anglers is now 15 per day, one of the most generous placed on any saltwater fish. Anglers who find the schools these days can literally catch the slender speedsters by the dozens, and a hundred a day caught and released is not out of the question for anyone who wants to tangle with that many.

Not only are mackerel far more numerous than they were during the days of heavy commercial harvest, they are much larger on average. Today, fish of 5 to 7 pounds are not uncommon, and when a mack gets this big, it performs like a kingfish, with smoking runs and speed that has to be seen to be believed.

There are already macks as far south as Boca Grande, according to captain Van Hubbard of Englewood, who reported plenty of Spanish, blues and bonito this past week just off the beaches. But the major migration is still well to the north; the traditional peak of the run at Sea Horse Reef, off Cedar Key in the Big Bend, is Oct. 15. From that point, the fish move south anywhere from 15 to 25 miles a day, sometimes a lot more if an early cold front pushes them.

The "too easy" way to catch macks is to use cut-up threadfins or sardines to chum them - they respond from long distances to the scent of cut bait. Then, a live thread or sardine is presented unweighted on a size 1/0 hook, typically on 60-pound-test fluorocarbon leader to protect against the sharp teeth, though some use No. 3 wire - more visible, but also more durable.

Mackerel also readily take small jigs, spoons and chrome lures like the Rat-L-Trap worked very fast, and they love tiny fly rod streamers when they're feeding on glass minnows. The secret to catching them on an artificial lure is to keep it moving at warp speed - a slow lure always draws rejection from a mack. (One way to spice up the action on jigs is to put a tiny sliver of fresh-cut shrimp on the hooks - it will double the number of strikes most days.)

Where do you find mackerel? Just about anywhere in open water from now through Thanksgiving; they hang over the grass in depths of more than 8 feet, in the ship channels, around the major bridges, around channel markers, over artificial reefs and wrecks, over spoil islands like those around Port Manatee channel, and along the tide line in major passes including Egmont, Southwest, John's, Clearwater and others.

Anglers who get out at dawn will usually be able to find mackerel feeding on top by watching for a "bird tornado," a whirling flock of gulls diving on bait driven from below by the gamefish. This action is sensitive to boat noise, so the best tactic is to get upwind or uptide and allow the natural forces to drift you into casting range, or to use a silent electric trolling motor to move in.

After the morning bite, the fish often go down. But you can still catch all the fish you want by putting out a spoon or jig on a No. 1 planer or by anchoring over a spoil island dropoff, typically in 8 to 10 feet, and chumming the fish to the boat. This is not the rapid-fire action of casting to a school, but it often produces some of the largest fish.

Macks are oily fish and are best when cooked fresh. Skin the fillets, cut out the red line, add a bit of Teriyaki and grill on a very hot fire until they start to brown - maybe you can eat 15 of them, after all.

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