Spanish on a Fly

Local Fishing By Thomas R. Dempsey, M.D. CCI

There is no greater thrill than casting to fish busting the surface, cutting back and forth, hammering your fly.When the weather turns hot fly fishing for Spanish Mackerel gets hotter. These guys are willing takers to small bait fish patterns such as #8 Clousers and similar size streamers. Most any color will work although white seems to be more predictable.Since mackerel  have sharp teeth,make sure you have a supply of fine tieable wire.

On point, if you are getting refusals, you might down the wire size. Mackerel have great eyesight, just check out the size of those eyes. I like an 8wt with a 9wt floating line. The oversizing helps deliver a quicker cast. Some of the speciality lines like Rio Outbound are perfect for the quick cast. Strip as fast as you can. This gets the fish revved up big time. Schools of spanish mackerel are often marked by birds diving into the pack of fish churning up the surface.You can follow the school until you wear out your casting machine.

If you have never eaten fresh spanish you have missed out on a culinary delight. Carefully fillet the fish leaving no skin and then cut out the mid blood line. What’s left is a tasty meal fried, grilled,or blackened, as mild a fish as you could want.