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See the fishing tripsThe Spanish Mackerel
March to September
30 cm
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The Spanish Mackerel belongs to the Scombridae family. It has an average length of 50 to 80 cm for 3.2 kg. The maximum length recorded is 120 cm. Its maximum lifespan is about 20 years. They spawn from April to September. It is fished from March to September.
Spanish mackerel has the contours of slender mackerel rather than bonito, its body being nearly 4½ at 5 times longer than depth. its two dorsal fins (like those of bonitoes) are barely separated, and secondly, because of its colorful pattern, its high slender dorsal shape and spotted sides distinguish it at first sight from our bonitoes, while its thin shape, long first dorsal fin and second dorsal fin contour distinguish it from the small tuna. Spanish mackerel is dark blue-green or blue-green above, pale below, like all Scombridae, and silvery, with many small oblong oval, dull orange or yellowish spots on its sides above the lateral line and below, which are highly diagnostic in nature. The fact that the membrane of the front third of its first dorsal fin is black, while its back part is greenish white, is also useful. The second dorsal and pectoral fins are pale yellowish with dark margins; the anal and ventral fins are white.
The Spanish Mackerel lifestyle
Spanish mackerel mainly eat herring, sardines, menhaden, mullets, needlefish and anchovies and, to a lesser extent, crab, shrimp and squid. They are often seen forcing schools of small fish into tight clusters and pushing them almost out of the water when feeding.
Spanish mackerel release their eggs in batches throughout the spawning season. Females can have between 500,000 and 1.5 million eggs during the spawning season. They live in a rapidly changing school.
The Spanish Mackerel habitat
Spanish mackerel is a pelagic neretic fish, i.e. it migrates constantly after food rather than residing on a specific reef, but does not cross deep water on the continental shelves like a real pelagic like wahoo or tuna. This means that it is found on archipelagos and continents, but not in atolls such as the Cook Islands, where it would take thousands of kilometres of deep water to access them.
Spanish mackerel are found off the Atlantic coast of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Spanish Mackerel angling
Spanish Mackerel is usually caught in boats trolling or drifting, as well as in boats, piers, jetties and beaches by throwing spoons and jigs and fishing with live bait. Rapid lure recovery is essential to catch these fast fish.
