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Big Schools Are Here; It's Time To Bet On Mackerel Bite

Photo from RICK BOLLINGER

Brian Bargen of Brandon caught this flounder fishing with Rick Bollinger of Fish Hawk Charters of Ruskin.

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 10, 2008

The mackerel bite in the Bay has been the best of the year for the past few weeks.

After a slow start this spring and summer, the fish have showed up in big schools. Even so, the catching hasn't been easy because the macks are feeding on tiny sardines and glass minnows.

Spanish mackerel seem to key in on size more than shape or color, and if your lure or bait is bigger than what they are feeding on, you probably won't catch as many fish.

Throw a lure that approximates the size of the bait they're eating and the catching gets a lot easier. Sometimes they get the bait balled up and anything you throw at them gets hit, but those are the rare days.

Day in day out, it's best to match the hatch.

Spanish mackerel are good targets for somebody looking to get started in saltwater fly fishing. Your casting doesn't have to be that precise or that far to be successful so long as you match the hatch.

I use a 7-weight rod with a sink-tip line for mackerel. I find the weighted tip casts better in the wind, and it takes the fly below the surface where the fish are.

Learn to roll cast and it's easy to flip the fly away from the boat, particularly when it's windy - you don't have to throw the fly 20 yards to catch mackerel. Three feet of 50-pound leader will keep cut offs to a minimum.

Snook season is on, but the best fishing for linesiders is yet to come. The water will have to cool down a bit for them to feed during the day, and that probably won't happen much before mid-October.

Most snook are done spawning and will be on the flats to fatten up before the lean times of winter - lower water temperature and a lot less to eat as baitfish head south.

Captain Larry Malinoski told me he had a good day on grouper in the Bay. He said he put 20 fish on the boat.

That fishery also will start to take off as water temperature drops. Trolling has been tough for the past few weeks because of all the weeds in the water, but that should soon begin to change.

Redfish should be here already, though I haven't found them in my usual spots as yet. The bite has been good on the other side of the Bay, but all the reports I'm getting from Joe Island, Piney Point and Cockroach Bay indicate that the best fishing has yet to arrive.

Water clarity has improved somewhat, but hasn't been good for much of the summer. Much needed rain has stained the inshore water a tannic color, but the visibility is better in the middle of the Bay. The recent rain associated with tropical storms hasn't helped.

Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.

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