King Mackerel, Kingfish
Florida and the the Florida Keys are home to several types of Mackerel year
round. Mackerel are long slender fish with a mouth full of sharp teeth, that
run in schools. Schools range in size and will consist primarily of fish around
the same size. They are around all year but they are really around in big numbers
in the winter months. Mackerel usually try to bite the tail of their prey when
they attack, so when using a larger bait it can by very helpful to add a stinger
treble hook to the rear of the bait. Mackerel have razor teeth and a bit of
wire will be required in front of your baits in order to reduce cut offs. Sometimes
for the spanish and cero mackerel, some 50# fluorocarbon with a circle hook
will work well and increase strikes.
A lot of people think that Mackerel in general are not that good to eat, but
personally if you eat them fresh I think they taste fine. They don't freeze
as well as other fish, and have stronger oilier taste. Many people like them
smoked.
The king mackerel is the largest of the Mackerel family found in the waters
around the Florida Keys. They range in size from 4 to around 20 pounds but sometimes
ones a lot larger are caught. Good tackle to fish for Kingfish with would be
medium to light rod spooled with around 20# test. Kingfish can be caught a
variety of ways: some of the more popular ways are trolling spoons on planers
or down riggers. They can also be caught on live bait. Pilchards are probably
the best bait for the small fish, but ballyhoo will work too. People who fish
for large King Mackerel often slow troll larger baits like blue runners or speedos.
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