spanish mackerel trolling rig

they’re lightning-fast speedsters with a lot of pullage-per-pound, and although they’re only in our neck of the woods for the summer months, provide a great diversion from the usual species we pursue. the ball-bearing swivel is important, because at the far and of this leader you’ll attach a spoon. neglect the swivel, and there’s some heavy-duty line twist in your future. the bulk of the spread gets placed down deep with the planers, while a line or maybe two gets run up top with just a couple ounces of lead. you need to dedicate yourself to the spanish, and accept the fact that you won’t be catching stripers at the same time. the area(s) you troll will also need to be varied a bit. mackerel will often be mixed in among the stripers and blues chasing bait up top.




you’ll virtually never see stripers nor blues gray-hounding across the surface but mackerel do it regularly. because of this as a general rule of thumb you’ll often do better on spanish on the eastern side of the bay in middle-bay areas, though once you get to point lookout and points farther south, the difference is far less dramatic. at the mouth of the bay and along the coast, finding a color change and trolling the cleaner side can be productive. that many of us will still want go after the spanish by casting into schools of breaking fish. though you will pick up a spanish now and again on a plus, jig, or live bait, small gold spoons are still the best offering. in fact, cranking a spinning reel at the very fastest pace you can physically maintain is not at all too fast for these fish. measure out a distance, time yourself with a stopwatch, and do the math. so it’s best to plan to eat them a day or two after catching ‘em.

spanish mackerel visit the upper bay during the summer when the water temperature rises to their comfort level. they show up in the lower bay much earlier in the year and are normally available by the first of june. one of the interesting facts about spanish off the coast of virginia is their behavior during a hard southwest wind. because spanish mackerel like a fast-moving bait, trolling is the best way to catch them. the trolling set up that has worked for me is quite simple. the leader is then tied to a ball-bearing snap swivel that is connected to either a huntington #1 planer or a one to three-ounce trolling sinker. the weight of the sinker depends on sea conditions and how deep i want the spoon to run. at this speed the 15-pound leader is going to twist no matter how many ball bearing swivels you use. then i wrap the rigs on leader spools so they are ready for action.

i will also put spoon rigs on the four rods i am going to use so when i begin fishing, all i have to do is connect a sinker or planer to the ball bearing snap swivel. since i am using 30-foot leaders, the spanish mackerel must be hand-lined to the boat once the sinker or planer comes aboard. this is when the twisting becomes a problem. once the leader is tangled, do not try to untangle the mess. now that you are all rigged up, where do you find the spanish mackerel? this action normally occurs at dawn and dusk, so to catch the best of the spanish bite you should be on the water by o’dark thirty. when the mackerel are on the surface, they may be in the company of bluefish. when blues are in the mix, just put them in the box and keep on fishing. the current has to be running hard and the time of day is still early or late, but most of the time the spanish will be there.

three basic trolling rigs for spanish mackerel include the planer rig, the carolina rig and the jig-and-spoon rig. all three incorporate the same basic trolling for spanish is not a mixed-species event. you need to dedicate yourself to the spanish, and accept the fact that you won’t be catching stripers at the transcript how to set up a rod and spoon for trolling, spanish mackerel rigs, spanish mackerel rigs, trolling speed for spanish mackerel, mackerel tree rig setup, trolling for spanish mackerel nc.

the trolling tackle you need to catch spanish mackerel: a 0 huntington drone spoon tied directly to 30 feet of 15-pound mono line. the line is trolling is an excellent technique used to catch spanish mackerel. it is basically the act of pulling lures behind the boat in search of fish. as mentioned while trolling spoons can be a quick and easy way to have fun, the most exciting tactic for catching spanish involves casting lures. when the, spanish mackerel lures, how deep to troll for spanish mackerel, best rod and reel for spanish mackerel trolling, how to catch spanish mackerel, what size line for spanish mackerel, spanish mackerel fishing in chesapeake bay, trolling fishing setup, rigging a planer for trolling, how to cast for spanish mackerel, trolling planer.

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