Spanish mackerel

1. Winter · gone south
   0.05
2. First arrivals
   0.35
3. Summer resident
   0.70
4. Fall
   0.65
5. ● Run · 70-84°F
   0.9570–84°F

1. 1

   sardines, thread herring & menhaden · greenbacks

   primary · finfish · Harengula jaguana; Opisthonema oglinum; Brevoortia patronus

   Diet share

   —

   In season

   Bait equivalents

   live greenback (scaled sardine), silver spoon, Gotcha plug, cut menhaden

   Season

   Peak Apr–Oct · lull Dec–Feb

   Vulnerable when

   • High on rising / falling tide in calm-to-moderate surf
   • Moderate on high slack / low slack tide
   • Low on any tide in moderate-to-high surf

   Sardines, thread herring and menhaden lead adult stomach contents (6,933 stomachs, Gulf and South Atlantic). Percentages not retrieved. — Saloman & Naughton 1983; FishBase SpecCode 126

2. 2

   bay anchovies (glass minnows) · glass minnows

   secondary · finfish · Anchoa mitchilli; Anchoa hepsetus

   Diet share

   —

   In season

   Bait equivalents

   small silver spoon, white tied jig, Clark spoon, Gotcha plug

   Season

   Peak Apr–Oct · lull Dec–Feb

   Vulnerable when

   • High on rising / falling tide in calm-to-moderate surf
   • Moderate on high slack / low slack tide

   Glass minnows dominate juvenile diets and draw adults onto the bars in summer and fall. — Naughton & Saloman 1981

3. 3

   shrimp

   tertiary · crustacean

   Diet share

   —

   In season

   Bait equivalents

   live shrimp, fresh dead shrimp, shrimp tip, gulp shrimp

   Season

   Peak Apr–Oct

   Vulnerable when

   • High on rising / high slack tide

   A minor item, but a free-lined live shrimp still gets bit around the piers. — FishBase SpecCode 126

Water temp

64–90°F

optimum 76°F

Salinity

25–37 PSU

Feeding

diurnal

Typical size

14–20"

max 36" fork

Lifespan

11 yr

mature at 1 yr

Group feeding

facilitates

Fast visual predator that slashes through schools of glass minnows, sardines and thread herring. Feeds hardest at first light and wherever bait is pinned against a bar, pier or jetty. Clear water matters.

Field notes

• Travels in large schools along the shore and feeds mostly on small schooling fish (clupeoids and anchovies), with some shrimp and squid.

  — FishBase SpecCode 126

• Prefers 70–81°F water and is rarely found below about 64°F. Spring arrival and fall departure track the high-60s °F water line.

  • water temp ≥ 64°F

  — ASMFC species profile 2024; Gulf Council hot sheet 2024

• Juveniles are already fish-eaters, feeding mainly on bay anchovies, menhaden and thread herring.

  — Naughton & Saloman 1981, Northeast Gulf Science 5(1):71-74

• A sight feeder: clear green water with bait on the outer bar is the setup. Muddy, churned water after a blow scatters the bite.

  • turbidity ≤ 30 NTU

  — angler heuristic consistent with visual-predator biology — unverified

Schooling by phase

arrivals

Scattered pods following bait up the coast

run

Large schools blitzing glass minnows and greenbacks on the bars and at the piers

summer

Schools around piers and passes early; deeper and farther out by midday

fall

Fish feed hard ahead of fronts before heading south

Citations

1. [1]FishBase SpecCode 126 · schooling diet
2. [2]ASMFC species profile 2024 · temp preference 70-81°F
3. [3]Naughton & Saloman 1981 · juvenile diet
4. [4]ASMFC Spanish mackerel species profile (2024) · temp preference adults prefer 21-27°C (70-81°F); rarely in water below 18°C (64°F)
5. [5]Gulf Council Spanish mackerel hot sheet (Feb 2024) · migration timing in the northern Gulf until about September, then south along the coast
6. [6]regional angling guides · departure cue 68f unverified — ~68°F departure cue is angler lore, not a cited threshold
7. [7]Gulf Council hot sheet 2024 · spawning eastern gulf shallow coastal waters, peak in May; batch spawner
8. [8]Gulf Council hot sheet 2024 · max age ~11 yr (FishBase lists 5 yr)
9. [9]Gulf Council hot sheet 2024 · maturity 50% mature at ~31.4 cm FL (12.4 in)
10. [10]FishBase SpecCode 126 · max size depth 91 cm FL, 5.9 kg; 10-35 m
11. [11]general literature · salinity band unverified