October 22, 2024
For this Ask an Expert we speak with Captain Chuck Jones of Salty Siren Fishing. Our topic: Catching fish when they're breaking water.
Captain Chuck is ready to put us on the fish!
Q: What's your…
June 23, 2024
You want to catch more Spanish mackerel? They may not be in our Mid-Atlantic waters for more than a few months out of the year, but when the Spanish are in town, it’s always nice to enjoy the…
September 7, 2023
We at FishTalk love getting a bit scientificalish now and again (see articles like Fishing Line Stretch Test: Stretching the Truth, and Fishing Hook Test: Fowl Play), especially when it uncovers some…
August 15, 2023
We’ve covered standard-issue Spanish mackerel trolling tactics more than once in FishTalk, but it’s been a while and now that August is here most of the Chesapeake should be riddled with these…
October 29, 2022
It’s early in the morning and I’m heading out for a morning topwater bite. My kayak glides across the surface of the water, and there is a light fog rising off the creek parting as I pass through it…
July 27, 2022
We’ve all been there before: there are little bluefish or stripers busting on bait, and suddenly out of the corner of your eye you see a pelagic-looking creature shoot out of the water, arc…
July 21, 2022
Forgive me if you have heard this before, but a long time ago someone told me that the progression from beginner anglers to the uber-experienced goes from any fish to many fish, to big fish, and then…
August 7, 2021
Summer trollers know that pulling their lures behind planers is highly effective on a number of species, ranging from Spanish Mackerel to cobia. Planers, however, can be a real pain in the you-know-…
September 1, 2020
When the U.S. Navy Blue Angels come to the area we hear about “Mach Speed.” Mach 1 is equal to the speed of sound in air. In general sound travels faster in warmer air, and for normal and dry…
July 30, 2020
Truth: the most effective way to stack Spanish mackerel into a fishbox is trolling for them with planers and spoons. Another truth: this can get thoroughly boring, even when the bite is good, as…
August 17, 2019
Spanish mackerel and king mackerel are both present in the Mid-Atlantic region, but Spanish mackerel are far more prevalent and fishing for Spanish mackerel is popular among many anglers when…
May 25, 2019
I still remember years ago when a friend showed me how to try fishing for Spanish mackerel with planers and spoons in the lower Chesapeake Bay waters of Virginia. Before then, I knew little or…
August 4, 2018
Spanish mackerel are like mini-pelagics of Chesapeake Bay fishing. They’re lightning-fast speedsters with a lot of pullage-per-pound, and although they’re only in our neck of the woods for the summer…