Spanish Mack Attack! Fishing Fort Desoto

© 2008-2011 Albert A Rasch and
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles™
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Just a little “touch base” with y’all!

As usual we hit the beaches this weekend. Actually we went to the Desoto State Park, right at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Bubby got it going on with the Spanish mackerel and just about slew them. He must have landed a couple dozen! The bite was on and he caught them with white bait (sardines) and on a Sabiki rig that he happened to have in his tackle box.

I took pictures of the first one, but we noticed that their scales and skin are very delicate. Blake actually decided that we wouldn’t handle them anymore and would just grab the hooks with his Gerber pliers and release them that way. (I think I’m doing a good job with him.) We also crushed all the barbs to facilitate the de-hooking operation. They Macks ranged in size from about what you see in the picture to a couple that where twice the size.

The late afternoon was very windy with the wind coming from the north and the current flowing south. Bubby rigged his whitebait with two split shot of about a quarter ounce total. Again he decided the hook size and the weight to use. It was right on the money and put the bait on the Mack’s dinner plate.

He got cut off at least ten times. It was a surprise to both he and I that the mackerel were toothy enough to slice the twenty pound leader we put on after the first few cut offs. We didn’t bring any light weight wire with us, so Bubby put that on his list of things to add to his tackle box.

Everyone needs to take the time to go fishing with their kids. Find out what’s biting, get what you need and get out there with them!

Regards,
Albert A Rasch
The Hunt Continues…