Spanish Mackerel, Take Two

Renita’s sister and brother in law, (Pam and Roy), arrived and I couldn’t wait to take Roy fishing. I knew he had never caught a Spanish mackerel and so we bought a quart of shrimp and headed to the south jetty.

Arriving at the Port Aransas jetty people were already lined up along the Gulf side. Finding an empty space, we baited up our rigs and cast out into the feeding fish. The swells were large and we both broke off several rigs before I finally saw my bobber disappear! I set the hook as a mackerel ran with the bait and fighting it, I managed to land it. Next it was Roy’s turn.

I looked over to watch him fight his fish, as another hit mine. We had a double! The fishing changed as the fish seemed to become even more active and then I got bit off,(I had forgotten to bring my steel leaders). Finding several leaders in my tackle box, I caught two more before a fish hit the shiny new sinker and bit through my twenty-pound test fire line.

Running out of bait I put on a jig tipped with a coccoho plastic body and got slammed as a fish hit on the first cast. Now I had added two spit shot on and those also drew the fish’s attention. As I fought in another fish, one bit through my line right between the two split shot! Good grief!

I never did land anymore fish but what a blast as fish after fish ripped the plastic jigs apart! The fish were in a feeding frenzy and it reminded me of the wild time I had fishing on Grand Isle. That time my brother in law Gary had taken me red fishing and we had caught thirty-four inch average reds on every cast( one of the best fishing trips of my life).

We ended up landing seven Spanish mackerel. Our friends down the way had landed an additional thirteen, before they ran out of bait. It had been a blast, fishing the Spanish mackerel frenzy and I look forward to fishing it again. Next time I will bring more steel leaders!