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November Mackerel in Panama Metropolis Seashore: Half One
Fall fishing for mackerel on the piers within the Emerald Coast could be very hit and miss, particularly the later into the autumn you get. So this yr I knew I used to be going to go right down to fish for a couple of days, I used to be making an attempt to choose one of the best days doable to go. Checking the climate to see what the temp and wind forecasts have been in addition to projected climate fronts. So with a few weeks of fine king mackerel reviews and good king mackerel climate being forecasted I went down for 3 days of pier fishing proper initially of November. Whereas after I was in faculty leaving the home at 1 or 2 am to drive right down to the Gulf was no downside in any respect for me, this let me get to the pier proper at dawn on the primary day of fishing, giving me probably the most fishing time doable. However I’ve to say I’ve slowed down now, I left fairly late this journey at 4:30 – 5 am and received to the County Pier car parking zone round 10 am.
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After getting the pier cart loaded up and all my rods unpacked and arrange, I paid my payment to fish the pier and began heading towards the top. The shallows have been actually horrible, simply mud, which actually has been the theme of the yr for the fishing on the pier. Soiled water usually sucks for mackerel fishing and there was a ton of it this yr. This additionally double sucked for this journey as a result of there was a month-long King mackerel event that I hoped to weigh a fish in, however I did not less than see some cleaner water in direction of the top. So seeing the shallows have been shot I simply stored strolling the 1/4 mile to the top of the pier and received to the primary essential step of “making bait”. On a rod that may usually be used for bass, I tied on a inexperienced #6 sabiki rig with a 1oz weight and began hopping it on the underside. As an alternative of working the sabiki extra aggressively, I used to be letting the wave motion do many of the work. I let the burden sit on the sand whereas I used to be working the rod to get simply get tight to the burden whereas not lifting it out of the sand. This was the ticket I received a number of hits on the primary solid, which I noticed was 3 cigar minnows as I used to be reeling them in. However I misplaced two of them making an attempt to elevate them as much as the pier, which occurs usually with smaller sabiki rigs, the hooks are small and skinny. However I had a pleasant high quality cigar minnow for dwell bait, I received that hooked onto my Cavitt Customs king rod w/ PENN Spinfisher VII 6500 Bailess, and pitched it out on a flatline to strive for king mackerel.
Hooked within the tail, cigar minnows will swim out away from you, getting additional away from the pier. So I stored the road off the road curler because the cigar minnow stored swimming out, protecting rigidity with my index finger to really feel the minnow swim. Finally, I felt a faucet on the road, in addition to noticed a flash within the water as my bait received slashed by a mackerel. Considering it was a king, I dropped the road off my finger and let the fish simply take slack out to verify the mackerel swallowed the bait down. After letting it take some extra line for a couple of extra seconds I flipped the road on the curler to set the hook, hoping to get a screaming run from the fish. After which a humorous factor occurred, I didn’t get a screaming king mackerel run. As an alternative, I received a brief pull from a bigger Spanish mackerel. Which sucks that it wasn’t a king I can’t complain about having meat within the kill bag inside 20 minutes of strolling out onto the pier.
So utilizing the one king bait I had, I needed to decide up the sabiki rig once more. However now I used to be struggling to search out extra baits. When the bait is plentiful and straightforward to catch I’ll simply fish them as I catch them giving any extras to mates or throwing them again. However with it being a battle today I pulled out a brand new livewell I received from Frabill, a collapsible bait bucket with an built-in aerator. After getting the livewell full of some contemporary seawater, I began fishing the sabiki once more the identical means. After going across the finish of the pier to some totally different spots I did lastly discover the bait once more.
This little livewell did surprisingly effectively even with some larger turbo cigs in it, the rounded corners of it made certain extra fragile baits like LYs and sardines wouldn’t choke in corners. With 6 baits within the livewell it was time to get again to fishing for kings.
So it was the identical, deal take a cigar minnow from out of the livewell, hook it behind the scutes of the tail, and sling that bait out to swim away from the pier. Which then received promptly grabbed by flipper, which not less than this time missed the hook in contrast to in Tampa. So after a swearing at a marine mammal for a second, I rebaited and slung one other bait out. Similar deal letting it swim out and protecting the road on my index finger. After letting this bait swim off the west aspect of the pier for 10 minutes I felt it begin to panic, making an attempt to swim off from no matter was spooking it. Then I felt a faucet, and let the road go so no matter had it might swallow it down.
I used to be then rewarded with one other Spanish mackerel, which once more are nice to eat. It’s simply they’re not my goal species. This was simply how this primary day went until nearly sundown. With everybody making an attempt for kings, however none to be discovered. Then perhaps half-hour earlier than sundown, lastly a king confirmed up, developing off the underside proper subsequent to the pier. It slashed and ate a cigar minnow subsequent to the pier, however pulled off with seconds of beginning its first run. You could possibly really feel the wave of disappointment undergo each one in every of us out on the finish when this occurred. I imply it wasn’t a giant king however any king was higher than none at this level.
I stored fishing until sundown however beside a couple of Spanish mackerel coming over the aspect on spoons pulled behind bubbles that was it for the day. Even with out catching a king, I not less than received to spend a day on the pier with some mates, so higher day than being up in Georgia.
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