If not casting, get a live shrimp or live pinfish offering out there to entice a participant or two to join the fishing excursion. For targeting Spanish, the best place to start is about halfway down the pier at the first "T, " but you can catch Spanish along the whole pier, very often the sides of the end "T" produce very well. They look very similar to king mackerel in body shape and color except just smaller. They run in short, powerful bursts, seldom going more than 10 yards at a time. I like to sauté my Spanish mackerel fillets in butter. Receipt, and we'll cover the cost of return shipping. Another highly popular species on the pier. We want to ensure that making a return is as easy and hassle-free as possible! Other productive spoons are the Gator, KastMaster, Clark, and Hopkins No-Equal. Make sure no one is behind you when you cast. I was just wondering if anyone has tried using a jerkbait behind a bubble with any success, trying to target bigger Spanish and Kings with the bubble rig. Fishing around the bridges with fiddler crabs or shrimp should produce nice sheepshead.
Anglers can either make a bubble rig themselves or buy them ready-made at most coast bait and tackle shops. "The Spanish are prevalent around the active bait fish pods. Spanish mackerel, of course! Unfortunately, we are unable to provide an excellent shopping experience on your browser because it lacks modern functionality needed for us. Not exactly sure what that would be, but hope is always present. You'll get more bites with the fluorocarbon, but also a few cut-offs. Where to catch them.
These areas could be local beaches, open bay waters, or the long bridges over Apalachicola and Ochlocknee bay and the bridge to St. George Island. For information on bay scallop regulations including daily bag limits, visit and click on "Saltwater Fishing, " "Recreational Regulations" and "Bay Scallops. An 8 weight fly rod is plenty, and even a 5 weight is adequate for most Gulf Coast Spanish. It's amazing to watch a school of Spanish zip around trying to eat your lure. Bait fishermen should use a long-shank hook (4/O-7/O size). Another good week at Steinhatchee. I believe it's impossible to move a lure too fast for Spanish. Spanish mackerel don't get very big. Table Fare – Spanish Mackerel. Two of them, the mackerel and blues, are also great on the plate. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Jack crevalle, jacks for short, are the "Gangstas of the flats. "
We're sorry - it looks like some elements of OpticsPlanet are being disabled by your AdBlocker. They would be the Spanish mackerel, bluefish, and jack crevalle. A few kings don't have this dip, and this can lead to confusion in the two species, which, as we said before, can be expensive if we're found to have an undersize king in our ice chest. The shallow spotty bottom waters over Dog Island Reef have also been holding a goodly number of trout, albeit no real big ones. Spanish can be prepared in just about any way, but there are a few things to do that help ensure best eating results. If you cannot enable cookies in your browser, please contact us — we are always here to help! They probably hold the Top 5 fish targeted on the pier. Learn more about our Return Policy. Spanish mackerel have nice light-colored meat, slightly oily, but not fishy. So, usually a McDonald's straw, Maribou jig, or Clark spoon.
You might need a light trolling weight to keep it in the water. When hooked on standard king mackerel gear or other heavy equipment, Spanish just can't give a good account of themselves. Fishermen who fillet their blues need not bother with bleeding. This dark meat can give a strong flavor. Yet again bring the chum to get them up and use a Spanish sardine on a flat line. The Perfection Lures Bubble Rig is built ready to go right out of the package. As with spinning and casting gear, fly-casters will need to have a short bite leader of wire to prevent bite-offs. And bake at 350 degrees until done. A lot more popular to eat compared to their big cousin the King mackerel. Getting a bite every cast is not an uncommon occurrence. To find the blues, again look for birds wheeling and diving at the surface.
You don't want a nice day on the pier to involve the Emergency Room. Spanish are very common in Grand Bay, on the western reaches of the Mobile Bay system. Methods for bluefish are similar to those used for mackerel, with the added advantage of being able to use cut bait. The reds aren't as particular about the clarity and salinity as the finicky trout. But remember, these waters are State waters, closed to gags for now. "For the weekend ahead, high tides will be happening the first part of the morning just after sunrise, falling out into early to mid-afternoon. A baby king's dorsal will be lighter in color—a light grey or greenish-colored fin. The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network. Most people use lures for fishing for Spanish. They roam around looking for trouble. The old-timers always said to start looking for Spanish Mackerel after the 3rd fog of March. They don't freeze well.
I've caught many trolling but it's not that much fun. Or just go with old faithful and fry them after dusting them in seasoned cornmeal. You must fish with a leader.
Be ready for some explosive topwater action. To locate the trout, going to have to slide out to deeper and somewhat clearer waters possessing a higher salinity level to locate 'em. Live or fake shrimp, minnows and even strips of squid will fool these hard-fighting yet tasty nomads. There were some good tripletail reports this past week, although a few big ones managed to get away. Also, the lateral line in MOST kings takes a decided dip toward the belly of the fish about halfway down the fish's side. Not only will the lure cast farther, it will rattle too. Spanish almost always run in schools by the hundreds. Dave Lear of Tallahassee said: "Is Mother Nature ever going to give us a break? A weedless gold or pink Aqua Dream spoon is another proven redfish attractor, but it needs to be worked slowly for the greatest effect. Gotcha plugs have incredibly sharp hooks right out of the box and will hook you as easily as they hook the mackerel. Fill the bubble halfway with water, make a long cast, and retrieve at a fast speed across the top of the water. A short six or eight inches is plenty long—light steel leader is needed in most cases.
Just cut out the blood line (the red part) when the fish is cleaned. If you know there are bigger fish roaming, upgrade accordingly. Moderate high tides thanks to the quarter moon phase will flood right around daylight before falling out by mid-afternoon. Starting Friday, Aug. 17, state waters off Gulf County, including St. Joseph Bay, will open to bay scallop harvest. Your Browser is Outdated.
In short, dark to darker is the prevailing water color. Try slow-trolling a live mullet on a 7/0 circle hook or a jointed Long A Bomber. Intense thunder storms in spots continue to dump large amounts of rain and the subsequent run-off into the bay is not helping the salinity levels at all. With cut bait, anchor a chunk of mullet, ladyfish or ballyhoo on the bottom when the top-water action slows. Just about any place an angler can get to saltwater on the Alabama Coast, Spanish will be there. It's an action bluefish can't resist. Use a large piece of bait, since you want to spread as much scent into the water as possible. To the end of the line is tied a small gold treble hook. They are truly a "tourist" fish.
The corresponding solunar feeding windows will occur the first couple hours after the morning high has crested and another two-hour window after the tide bottoms out in the afternoon. Thousands of are caught each year from the Gulf Shores State Park Pier. So, how to tell the difference so we can let that baby king go and keep the trophy Spanish?