Spanish Reflections

“I don’t always choose to fish for mackerel.  But when I do, I prefer mine to be Spanish.”

A pair of large Spanish.  Destined for the table?  Or for the next day's bait?

Thinking back on the season so far, it’s hard not to further appreciate the Spanish Mackerel that I encountered in Marathon.  I went looking for pelagics; and when conditions were tough, Spanish were there, both inshore and offshore.  To get right to the point, let me simply acknowledge the following traits that make them worthy, interesting quarry.  Spanish Mackerel are:

• ·       Abundant
• ·       Willing biters
• ·       Fast!
• ·       Great match for light tackle
• ·       Sizeable enough for the outcome to be left in doubt
• ·       Can be caught in a variety of ways
• ·       Attractive
• ·       Toothy
• ·       Good to eat, if you so choose
• ·       Great bait for bigger predators; a fine food chain fishing opportunity
• ·       Docile in hand and very releasable
• ·       Comingled with lots of other catchable fish

Would I plan a big trip around them?  Probably not; their environment offers too many other options and distractions.  Would I trade them for my Atlantic Mackerel in New England?  Thankfully I don’t have to; these smaller tinker mackerel make awesome bait for stripers and blues.  If they were bigger, I’m sure I’d be listing these same traits for them, too.  But, at their size, they really are bait, and not quarry.  Will I keep them in my back pocket and fall back on them as an insurance policy to save (or make) a difficult day?  Absolutely; what a fall-back proposition!

What about Kings and Ceros?  They’re awesome!  A King on a kite bait is a memory not to be forgotten (is there any other kind?), and Ceros provided some scorching runs and explosive strikes in February.   But these larger predators are a little more fickle in their location and generally less abundant (at least in my limited experience.)  So I love them, and I look forward to more; but just not with the current fondness I feel for the Spanish, and the confidence I have in their conquest.

Kites and Kings!

Cero!

I trolled up this Spanish on a Rapala X-Rap.  I love the colors in this pic!  Check out the teeth, but also check out the Spanish Reflection above the right nasal nare...

Perhaps I can see it more clearly than it really existed, but I was part of this mackerel.  It is part of me.