St Marks aka one of the reasons why i love the salt.

[eightwt]

Fished St Marks yesterday. Drove through a monsoon, but stopped as I was getting off 98. Fishing wasn't hot, but loved the variety of pullage, 6 species. Trout, redfish, Spanish, jack, ladyfish, and pinfish. Nothing unusual but interesting, at least for me. Did spook a sheepy, but no shot at it.

[silverking]

Nice results with the buggy whip! Mix of flies or all on one?

[Salty Gator]

Nice work, a “ dinner table” slam and a trash fish slam. Good for you

[Terrier]

Good outing - I haven't caught a spanish all year - normally they're all over the place.

[eightwt]

Nice results with the buggy whip! Mix of flies or all on one?

Chart/white clouser , tannish crafty shrimp, and a pink reverse tied craft fur baitfish pattern. Place was pretty much deserted except for a couple boats drifting out farther.

[silverking]

[FTReelty]

Fished Saturday with the wife and 12 year old out of St Marks. Got a late start and in the water about 10:30. Headed East and fished 6-9 ft with new penny and white/chartruse. slow to start, but picked up about 1. Had 4 keeper trout-one was 23.5, and 2 nice Spanish. Caught quite a few shorts-14.7/8. Ladyfish, blue, cats....Headed in at 2;30. Not a bad day. Water temp said 83 and water was nice and green. After we caught the 2 Spanish, my son said-lets troll for Spanish with the spoons....we were catching a few trout, so I talked him out of it, but wonder if it would be worth the try, seemed to be a lot of bait around. Anybody had any luck trolling around in 9 foot of water for em?

[John21:6]

I've caught Spanish mackerel on the flats and many more of them in shallower water (7-12') just south of the east flats, Gray Mare, and Peter's Rock. You can catch them trolling, but it might be more fun to catch them cast and retrieve style, especially when they are in thick schools. I've seen schools out of St. Marks so thick that they made the water appear like it was boiling. Look for seagulls diving for bait and you will probably find the mackerel.

Learn from the mistakes I've made while fishing for Spanish mackerel: (1) Don't use your favorite expensive lure. Mackerel seem to hit anything and what they don't bite off they will scuff and dent. (However, it's fun to humbly show off your scuffed and dented lures after you've caught a pile of mackerel. "Oh, I had such a terrible day fishing, I caught so many fish that my lures are all scuffed and dented. Woe is me.") (2) Bring a friend with you who is good at scrubbing fish blood off your boat. (3) A steady retrieve will increase the odds of a mackerel biting your lure instead of slicing your leader, which is important if you are using mono leaders. (4) If your lures have treble hooks, be especially careful removing them from the mackerel so you don't have to remove the hooks from your fingers, too.

[Salty Gator]

Fished Saturday with the wife and 12 year old out of St Marks. Got a late start and in the water about 10:30. Headed East and fished 6-9 ft with new penny and white/chartruse. slow to start, but picked up about 1. Had 4 keeper trout-one was 23.5, and 2 nice Spanish. Caught quite a few shorts-14.7/8. Ladyfish, blue, cats....Headed in at 2;30. Not a bad day. Water temp said 83 and water was nice and green. After we caught the 2 Spanish, my son said-lets troll for Spanish with the spoons....we were catching a few trout, so I talked him out of it, but wonder if it would be worth the try, seemed to be a lot of bait around. Anybody had any luck trolling around in 9 foot of water for em?

If I’m fishing with inexperienced kids or adults especially when it’s really hot, I’ll troll for Spanish. My personal set up is one gold and one silver Johnson spoon with 30 lb fluro ( black ball bearing swivel w split ring to spoon). Use different sizes and switch to whatever is getting the bites. I almost never get cut off. Troll fast enough to get a good wobble on the rod tip. No tangles or wind knots, nice breeze, tunes on. And let them take turns reeling in fish.