If you are looking to catch your limit of Spanish or Cero
mackerel, McDonald's restaurants is the place to be but it's
not for the burgers! I've got a Mac attack on my mind and I
need some straws. Their shakes may be the best in town but
it's the straws that are totally awesome. The next time
you're in there, pick up a couple of extra ones because
you're going to need them to satisfy your Big Mac attack.
The Mac's we're talking about are Spanish & Cero Mackerels
and they should start their spring run from the tropics
sometime soon now and of course, with them comes their
cousins the King Mackerel, following right on their heels
but that is another story, for our concern right now is
getting prepared to Catching the Mac on a Straw.

Spanish mackerel or just Spanish is what they are commonly
referred to on the Gulf coast from Florida to Texas. Cero
and Spanish can be found offshore, inshore and near shore.
Spanish love clear water and their eyesight are very good.
Spanish have very sharp teeth and can bite through most any
leader. Leaders are a must when fishing for any type of
mackerel but only mono ones of the 25 pound test class or
higher should be used. You could be tempted to use wire but
do not want to do this, as it will affect the motion of your
lure and most Spanish or Cero will not hit wire.

Spanish and Cero mackerel, swimming in large schools, give
away their presence by excited birds overhead. The mackerel
feeds on schooling bait fishes such as greenbacks or
threadfins. As they dart and thrash through the pods of
baitfish, the bait fishes bolt to the surface only to the
awaiting gulls, which too are looking for a meal. Diving
birds and boiling water equal schooling Mac's.

Spanish mackerel are a surface-dweller, near-shore species,
which will migrate over long distances in large schools
along the shore. As water temperatures in the south
increase, it moves north, entering the bays; when
temperatures exceed 63 degrees Fahrenheit. The optimum water
temperature or magic number seems to be 72 degrees. That's
when the bite is on!

Spanish and Cero mackerel live in the coastal waters of the
western Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico and are a
schooling fish, preferring shallow coastal ocean waters;
they can be found in tidal estuaries, too. A description of
a Spanish would be: color of back green, shading to silver
on sides, golden yellow irregular spots above and below
lateral line; front of dorsal fin black; lateral line curves
gently to base of tail.

Armed with a handful of straws, a packet of #1 long shank
Eagle Claw Hooks, 25 # test mono fishing line, a couple of 1
ounce egg weights, and barrel swivels; we are ready to make
the ultimate lure of choice and my number one favorite: The
Straw! Yep, you heard right and you will catch more fish
with a straw, than anything in your tackle box, ever! It is
easier on the pocket book too; would you rather lose that
$5.95 Got-Cha or that 10 cent hook on the free straw? You
add it up?

Cutting a piece of leader at 18 inches in length of the 25 #
test line, tie it a # 1 long shank hook. Measure the straw
and cut it at the length of the shank of the hook. Feed the
leader line into the straw and pull the straw down over the
shank of the hook. Tie the open end of this leader to the
barrel swivel. Your lure is made! Make up a couple of more
because you will need them before the day is out. Think of
the color assortments? I prefer white with a green stripe,
much like the natural green backs that frequent our waters
off Venice, Florida. Another color that seems to be a killer
is red on white! Taking the 1 ounce egg sinker and running
your line through it and attach the line to a snap swivel.
Now you can attach the barrel with your straw lure to the
snap and you are ready to fish. Make sure that the barrel
and snap swivel are black in color and not silver, gold,
bronze or anything else or the Mac Attack will happen on
your swivel and not on the straw rig.

Spanish mackerel are extremely speedy fish with excellent
vision, and that steers you in the direction of reels with a
high rate of retrieve, in excess of 6-to-1, in order to get
your lure moving fast enough to draw a strike. Any reel will
do but the ones with a high gear ratio are easier for
manipulating your lure, any lure. As far as rods are
concerned, surf-spinning or bait casting rods with a lively
tip are a plus in my book. Beyond getting the right
equipment, "you've got to be able to cast a country mile and
reel as fast as you can." That's about all the technique
that's involved. Using the straws as a jerk bait or quick
retrieve, bounce off the bottom; even trolling in tandem on
an umbrella rig is great for catching fish; using more than
one straw at a time will result in two or more fish on the
same line! One straw=1 fish, two=2 fish, ect., ect., ect. I
tried a tandem rig once while fishing the jetties with four
straws at once; never again, I had four bruisers on at the
same time attached and pulling in four different directions
on 12 pound test line. Guess how long that lasted?

Concentrate on fishing the first few hours of the morning
and last few hours of the evening for Spanish or Cero
mackerel. Mackerel seem to prefer low light conditions when
feeding. Fishing with straws is really fun, especially when
someone looks at you and says "What you fishing for?" to
which your reply "Macks", Are they biting? "Sure are", you
reply. What you using? And you get to see that funny look on
their faces as you say: "Just a pair of straws!"

FACT*
Straws come in all sizes and colors. The assortment of lures
you can make is endless. When fishing for Germen Browns or
Rainbows in the Rockies', I use to cut cocktail straws (the
small diameter red ones) in lengths of the shank of a salmon
egg hook. Making the straw rig as stated above but using a
split shot in place of the egg sinker. Also, the straw rig
was made on the line attached to the reel, with no leader
needed! The straw rig, on an egg hook resembled a midge
hatch and was a killer lure. Another use is with colored
neon glow in the dark party specialty straws, cut into
various length and placed in random, on light leaders with
only one of the straws containing a hook attached to a pop
up ( the hook less straws rest on the split shot and do not
have a hook for they are a teaser and are there only as an
attractant). Split shots placed above all straws except the
one with the hook and just see how many perch you can pull
through the ice?

If you liked this article and would like to see pictures of
sharks to crabs being caught, then please come visit us out
here on the Venice City Pier at Sharky's and do a bit of
angling with our very own Venice Pier Anglers. If that
excites you, then why not join our program, where you have
the rights to a link on your site or an advertisement
displaying your wares and by becoming an affiliate of The
Island Anglers, where, you too can help spread the word of
"Positive Mentoring through Fishing!" Gary A. Anderson is a
freelance outdoors writer, product tester for fish &
outdoors equipment and web master for a number of sites. You
can view his blog at: http://fish.theislandanglers.com/ or
visit with The Island Anglers at:
http://theislandanglers.com/

To contact Gary A. Anderson: island.anglers@gmail.com

"FISH ON!"