Smoker King Mackerel Making a Showing in Tampa Bay

The smoker King Mackerel have shown up in big numbers in Tampa Bay! YACHTFISH Charters out of Saint Petersburg has been targeting these fish for the past couple weeks gearing up for the big King Mackerel Tournament this weekend! The King of the Beach fishing tournament is one of the largest Kingfish Tournament in the world with over 600 boats usually fishing. The King Mackerel or aka Kingfish is a migratory species of mackerel of the Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic Ocean. These fish are commonly found in depths of 40-150 ft of water over areas of natural hard bottom. Kingfish grow about three to four pounds a year so a 40 pound King Mackerel could be around thirteen to fourteen years old. In the Gulf of Mexico, they must be at least 24 inches to the fork of the tail to harvest and have a daily bag limit of three per harvester. Some of their favorite food to eat are: blue runners, sardines, cigar minnows and threadfin hearing. We have been slow trolling live baits around bait schools having some great success the past few weeks. They are known for their long and fast runs screaming off hundreds of yards of line in seconds. A wire leader is preferred with the King Mackerel known as a stinger rig which has a lead j-hook followed by a treble hook. This must be done because the Kingfish commonly bite the tail portion of the baitfish while slow trolling the live baits. The Kingfish have some edible value and are best prepared by grilling, baking and by smoking. YACHTFISH Charters in Saint Petersburg will be competing in this weekends tournament so stand by for the results. Best of luck to all the great teams fishing this weekends event and most importantly everyone is safe out on the water. #YACHTFISH #fishingcharters #saintpetersburg #florida #tampabay #fishflorida #fishing #stpetebeach #monster #kingfish #kingmackerel #tournaments #competition #maythebestwin #money #goodluck