| Wading through the myriad of choices in fishing gear | | | | beyond the scope of this article. |
| can leave you with a headache. | | | | Fishing for Spanish Mackerel requires a medium light to |
| To begin with there are the choices between | | | | medium action rod at a minimum as the fish can reach |
| freshwater or saltwater fishing, light tackle, medium | | | | a weight of seven or eight pounds in schools of large |
| tackle, heavy tackle and even fly-fishing. | | | | fish. The reel of choice should be equivalent to a Penn |
| When considering saltwater you also stop to consider, | | | | 4500ss or Penn 716 or better. Almost everyone |
| am I going deepwater or am going to fish near shore. | | | | chooses spinning reels for pier fishing. You want a reel |
| Do I need a rod suitable for boat fishing or a longer rod | | | | that will hold at least 200 yards of 10 to 12 lb. test |
| for the beach and pier fishing? | | | | monofilament line and tie a steel leader of 12-14 inches |
| We obviously cannot address all of these in one article, | | | | to keep them from biting through the line. |
| so let's take a favorite of mine, saltwater fishing. For | | | | When fishing for King Mackerel, you will need |
| the purposes of this article we will assume we are | | | | considerably heavier fishing gear as these are |
| choosing near shore and bay fishing as opposed to | | | | considerably larger fish. King Mackerel on the Upper |
| offshore, deepwater fishing. | | | | Gulf Coast will average around twenty pounds but |
| This author grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida | | | | "smoker" Kings of over forty pounds are not |
| leading to a love of saltwater fishing. We have always | | | | uncommon and they can take out 200 yards of fishing |
| had a number of fishing piers in the northwest Florida | | | | line off your reel in seconds! When fishing for these |
| area where I was raised so having a boat was never | | | | monsters you want to have a medium heavy rod, |
| a prerequisite. The main types of fishing we do in the | | | | seven to nine feet in length and preferably paired with |
| Florida panhandle are fishing off the local piers | | | | a Penn 706z. We favor the Penn reels here on the |
| extending into the Gulf of Mexico and wading in the | | | | coast because of their durability. The thing that is |
| local bays. | | | | special about the 706 is that it has no bail, which |
| When fishing off the local piers one will need fishing | | | | makes for much quicker casting. This is crucial when |
| gear from medium to medium heavy. Fishing in the Gulf | | | | you are competing with several other fishermen all |
| of Mexico we usually focus on the following migrational | | | | around you. As with the Spanish Mackerel, you will |
| species: Spanish Mackerel, King Mackerel, and Cobia. | | | | want to tie on a steel leader, but a much heavier one |
| Cobia will require separate instruction that goes | | | | for the Kings. Use a leader of a 40 lb. class or better. |