Spanish mackerel used to be a southern fish. Warming water has pushed them north, and in recent summers they have become a regular part of the late-season mix around Cape Cod and the Islands, often mixed in with bonito and albies. They are fast, they are pretty, and they are excellent on the grill.
How to identify them
Spanish mackerel are slender and streamlined with a green back, silvery sides, and rows of bright golden-yellow spots. They have a mouthful of small, sharp teeth. Do not confuse them with the common Atlantic (Boston) mackerel we use for bait, which has dark wavy bars and no yellow spots and stays much smaller.
Where and when
This is a warm-water, late-summer fish for us, most likely from late July into October in the warmer years. Find them in the same fall-run zones as the other speedsters: harbor mouths, inlets, points and open bait off the south side of the Cape and the Islands. Their presence swings a lot with water temperature from year to year.
Tip Spanish mackerel key on very small bait and want speed. If you are getting follows but no eats from albies and bonito, downsize hard and retrieve faster, Spanish will often eat a tiny fast metal the bigger speedsters refuse.
How to catch them
Small, fast, and flashy is the whole game. They eat bay anchovies and silversides and want a quick-moving target.
- Small metals and epoxy jigs retrieved fast, Hogy epoxy jigs are ideal.
- Small soft plastics on a light jighead, burned back near the surface.
- Fly: small flashy epoxy and Clouser-style patterns on a 7- to 9-weight.
Their teeth can nick a light leader, so a short section of heavier fluoro helps, though too heavy and you lose bites in clear water.
Eating and handling
Spanish mackerel are very good eating when fresh: bleed and ice them right away and cook them soon. Like all mackerel the meat is rich and does not keep, so eat what you keep quickly.