Trolling For Spanish Mackerel From A Kayak [Fishing Report]
- By: Matthew Lanier
- on
Last week I struggled to get a bite in the midst of a Spanish Mackerel frenzy, so I decided to start trolling for Spanish Mackerel!
If the fish aren’t biting, don’t give up.
Just try something different.
Check out how my day went right here!
Trolling For Spanish Mackerel [VIDEO]
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Equipment Mentioned:
I had come up on a point holding a lot of bait when all of a sudden, chaos ensued.
Spanish Mackerel were crashing on bait all around me but I couldn’t trigger a strike on my lures.
So, I decided to start trolling with a small twitchbait lure to see if I could get a bite.
Lo and behold, within SECONDS I was on my first Spanish Mackerel of the day.
For this type of trolling from a kayak, I keep my line out between 30 and 40 yards behind me.
Trolling a flat with oyster bars and other structures on days when you are struggling is an excellent idea.
Also, Spanish Mackerel have very sharp teeth and can cut straight through your leader.
Wire leader is best when specifically targeting these fish so you avoid losing any of your lures.
Additionally, I did not have the RIGHT lure with me out there, but I made the most of it.
As far as trolling lures go, you definitely want something with a flash like a spoon.
A spoon will shine in the water and attract strikes while also standing up to the sharp teeth of the Spanish Mackerel.
[optin-monster slug=”wcrcrc7d6ih5k29wooi4″ followrules=”true”]
Conclusion
Trolling can be an effective way of triggering bites if you are having a slow day out on the water.
You definitely want to have a spoon of some sort in your tackle box for this time of the year!
Do you have any more questions about trolling for Spanish Mackerel?
Let me know your thoughts down below!!
And if you know someone who wants to learn more about trolling for Spanish Mackerel, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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A vertical jigging spoon is my go to lure for spanish mackerel. Specifically, a 7/8 oz War Eagle jigging spoon in a silver or white is what I will use depending on weather and water conditions. If the fish are below you then just drop down the spoon and jig it vertically. If the fish are further out then you can make a long cast and just rip and flutter the spoon back through the school. Just be ready though, because everything will eat that lure! I’ve caught pompano off the beach while throwing it at a school of mackerel in the surf. Even caught Mangrove snapper while throwing it around jetties for snook.
There’s some very good comments here so I won’t add too much to what’s already been said other than in 35 years of catching spanish I’ve never used a wire leader. I also can’t recall losing lures to their bite but that could be due to the trolling speed and them biting from behind. I generally use clark spoons tied to a 15lb floro leader.
How to know what is a good area to troll for Spanish?
Matt,
Thanks for the great content and videos. Can you give a brief rundown of how the different rods on your Kayak are rigged up?
Thanks again!
When the Spanish come up to the Chesapeake Bay, the recommended trolling speed is 5-8 mph. Tough to do in a kayak without wearing yourself out. The general rule of thumb is they like fast moving baits. The faster the better. Any speed slower you’ll catch bluefish and other species. The Clarkspoon Jig stick in the tackle shop should work well in windy conditions. A 7.0 to 8.0 ratio reel will help as well. They say if you are reeling as fast as you can, reel faster. The Clark spoons work great for Spanish as well. In the Chesapeake area, we have a local tackle guy that makes a rain minnow lure. Great for Spanish, Bluefish, etc. Rain Minnows — G-EyeJigs (geyejigs.com) .
Good info! Thanks for watching Mark!
Thats not a Spanish Mackeral, its a pup, minimum size here is 750mm and yesterday I caught 7 between 10 and 25 KG
Ha Ha… it was a smaller one but there were some bigger ones in the area. I think I couldnt get on a bigger bite because with the heavy current in that spot i couldnt get enough speed for the bigger ones to be interested.
Thanks for watching though, Richard!
Have you ever tried using a plastic straw rig trolling for spanish. Use heavy mono and 2 hooks. The rig will last a long time and they seem to hit it better than spoons or other lures. catch 2 at a time frequently. If it gets cut through all you have lost is one or 2 hooks.
Jim b., can you post a link to show us exactly what you mean?
I will try and post a picture of one tomorrow. It is a home made rig. There are several videos on youtube but most of those are for pier fishing with a weight.
You take about a 6 ft. piece of 40-60 lb mono and make a loop knot about 2 feet from one end. Take a plastic straw and cut about 1.5 to 2 inch section off at 45 degree angle (need 2 of these) slide them up each loose end of the mono with angled side down. Tie a long shank 4/0 to 6/0 hook on each loose end then slide the straw down onto the hook. You end up with double rig with one hook at about 1.5 -2 ft and the other at about 3 to 4 ft. you can adjust to however far you want to space them apart. I have used white straws with colored stripes and red straws. They have worked for me when Clark spoon would not.
I have heard of the straw rigs but i havent ever used them! I would have loved to have had one on this trip! lol
Thanks for watching!