Beach Macks Are Back!

Armed with Strike King sunglasses and our circle hooks, tagged to a free spooled live Greenback minnow, Ed was sure in hooking it up with a Spanish darting through the black bait balls moving in abundance about the sides of the pier. Along the outskirts of a large balled bait pod was a barracuda of at least four if not five feet in length, cruising in a circular motion around and around the pod causing it to become tighter and tighter and then in a burst of speed, a flash and slash, the pod dispersed and the Cuda made its kill. Awesome! Like watching the Discovery channel in prime time live action as his line also tightened and “fish on!”
The afternoon started as Edwin searched the surface for sizable Greenies, in the three-inch range and I worked an MR-17 in search of topwater action from anything trout, reds, snook or mackerel. Working the shoreline, I managed a couple of rats, a keeper trout and a couple of spit-off snook. Keeping none, Ed was motioning he had the baits and I met him out on the boards. Changing over to a 2/0 circle hook, on a forty pound test leader of around three feet long, I too was ready for macks. Hooking the greenies just below their gills, in front of their gut line, they were tossed out to frantically swim and drift with the prevailing currents or wind on the lose line. Watching for that first twitch or straighten of the line gave hint to a strike, though with my Strike Kings on, usually I saw the flash at the bait just before the strike.
Even though the water temperatures are in the high eighties or even nineties, fast moving storms and uplifts over the waters in the form of fast moving lows will produce fish to turn on and if bait is present, it is frenzy. As was the case today. Keeping an eye to the sky for boomers is necessary and a need to remove you from harms way but other wise it is a refreshing change from the doldrums of August. The fall run on the mackerel should be a good one this year and I predict an early one, Kingfish included as the Spanish we kept for the grill were full of roe and they are starting to school up.
A new thing to remember this year here in Florida is all need a fishing license on the beach as of August 01, of this year. The new shoreline licenses cost $9, while saltwater fishing licenses are $17, for residents. Non-residents need regular licenses to fish from the shore or a boat. The new law allows exemptions for resident anglers fishing in their home counties using live or natural bait, on a line or pole without a line-retrieval mechanism. The exemption does not apply to people using nets, traps, gigs, spears or who gather seafood by hand.

To purchase Florida fishing license click here
or call
888-FISH-FLORIDA (347-4356).