Damn Good Spanish Mackerel Fishing Charters

The best spanish mackerel fishing charters are:

• Blackwater Charters guided by Eric S. with 30 years of experience
• Cat 5 Fishing guided by Luke B.
• BearCutBandit Sport Fishing and Sandbar Charters guided by Alek F.
• Afishionado guided by Wade O. with 28 years of experience
• Only Chance Charters guided by John L.

Our Damn Good Guides currently offer 90 spanish mackerel trips, and the most popular trips are 5-8 Hour Reef/Offshore Fishing guided by Landon, Summer Destin Gulf Trip - 58 Ft C C guided by Jason, and Tampa Kids Fishing - Rick's guided by Jarrod.

Our guides are rated a 4.94 out of 5 based on 9498 verified reviews on Captain Experiences.

All guides on Captain Experiences are vetted by our team. You can access their reviews, click through trip photos, read bios to get to know them, and preview trip details like species, techniques, group sizes, boat specs and more.

Looking for kid friendly spanish mackerel guides / fishing lessons? Check out our beginner and family friendly spanish mackerel guides.

Deep Sea fishing is the most popular type of fishing for spanish mackerel as well as nearshore fishing, inshore fishing, and flats fishing.

The most common fishing techniques are light tackle fishing, bottom fishing, and trolling but live bait fishing and artificial lure fishing are popular as well.

Prices for spanish mackerel can range anywhere from about $650 to $7,200, but the average price for a half day trip for spanish mackerel is $1,134. The average price for a full day trip for spanish mackerel is $4,411.

Hiring a guide provides a number of benefits and many choose to book a fishing guide for a combination of experience, local knowledge, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.

Working with experienced fishing guides who know the best local spots and techniques can dramatically increase your odds of a great day. Having someone who is on the water every day and knows the area like the back of their hand is going to give you the best chances of success.

Booking a guide is also more cost effective, especially if you only get out a handful of times per year. When you consider all of the costs you would incur on your own such as the price of a boat, maintenance, insurance, gas, high-quality gear and tackle, repairs, and more, you’ll find that DIY is sometimes not worth the expense.

Even if you’ve got a great setup already in your home waters, booking a guide also provides a great opportunity to experience new techniques, new locations, or even a chance at a new target species to knock off the bucket list.

The most popular season for spanish mackerel fishing is summer, and most anglers book their trips 15 days in advance.

See here for more information on spanish mackerel fishing licenses, spanish mackerel bag limits, and fishing season regulations for spanish mackerel. When in doubt, your guide will always know all the relevant spanish mackerel rules and regulations.

Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) are saltwater fish, found in the Atlantic ocean. They have a green back, silver sides with three rows of yellow spots on both sides and sharp jaws. These spots help to separate them from the cero and king mackerel, who otherwise look very similar.

They are strong swimmers, reaching speeds of up to 18 feet per second, for stretches of up to 20 miles. Built for speed with their bullet-shaped bodies, be ready for an energetic fight once you have one hooked. Thanks to conservation efforts after overfishing in the 1980s, starting the fight will be a much easier feat now that the species has been brought back from the brink!

Not typically regarded as a bragging rights fish, spanish mackerel are typically between two and six pounds. Those that grow larger than ten pounds are considered large. They are usually at their full size at five years for males, and six years for females.

On November 4th, 1987, Robert Cranton caught the International Game Fish Association world record for spanish mackerel. Weighing in at a solid 13 pounds, this beast was caught out of Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, and has yet to be officially beat.

Spanish mackerel are a shallow water species, staying in depths of 10 to 40 feet, however can occasionally be found as deep as 80 feet. They can be found as far south as the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Some of the most highly regarded areas to fish for spanish mackerel are Miami and the Keys in Florida, and also the northern Texas coast.

Spanish mackerel are migratory fish who follow rising water temperatures. Due to this, it is important to follow their pattern and target them according to where they are along their route during season changes.

The Gulf of Mexico tends to be the best from May to September, whereas in the Atlantic, you can find them travelling north up the United States coast line in the spring summer, and then head down south towards Cancun for the fall and winter.

There are several spots to look for spanish mackerel depending on how deep of water you are targeting them in. For offshore and nearshore, look for structures that they may school around, while inshore check the surfs, flats, piers, and jetties.

They tend to feed in large schools near the surface, so another convenient way to find them is by watching for water commotion as well as bird activity.

Spanish mackerel can be caught with many different lures and baits. Nylon jigs, feather lures and spoons work great for artificial, while minnows and live shrimp work great for natural bait. They can be used while trolling or drift fishing, or just casting off the pier.

Spanish mackerel are a very popular white fish, and is best eaten fresh. There are many ways to prepare mackerel, whether you broil, fry, bake, or even smoke them. However, the most popular way to enjoy spanish mackerel is in sushi! At many sushi restaurants, you will find it under the name sawara.