The fall Spanish are here, including some real chunky monkeys! This is the best time of year to get yourself onto a citation Spanish Mackerel. Had a charter back out for yesterday, so I took advantage of the opportunity to go solo and get some fish for my freezer. I'll be honest, I was also a little stoked from looking at the fish checked in at the US Open King Mackerel Tournament this past weekend, and hoped to maybe put a big one on the boat myself. I'll start right off by saying there were no big kings landed. I did land a short, I lost one good fish to a shark, and I had a couple slip the hooks before I got them to the boat. There's not much more disappointing than to hook up that smoker that makes one screaming run, and then he just drops the hook... just thinking about it makes me a little sad. But it is hard to beat that excitement. I might have finally connected on the king, but I ran through my cigar minnows. With all the hurricanes passing the other side of the Gulf Stream, along with the winds from these high pressure systems coming off the coast, there was a lot of sargasso weed blown inshore. I found weed patches five miles off the beach. These are a mixed blessing, because while they can concentrate baitfish, they also tend to snag up on your baits. Eventually, after pulling the baits in to clear the snags, they start to break down or pull off. I probably lost as many baits in the sargasso weed as I did to fish. So on the way off to my favorite king mackerel spot, I saw fish ripping up the surface, and birds circling and diving all around. I could see that most of the schools were false albacore, but there were also a lot of Spanish slashing through as well. I figured this would be a good spot to stop and fish. With so much activity, there's a good chance that a big king might be lurking around, as well as the opportunity to catch a big, fall Spanish. And while I seldom keep false albacore (bonita), they are a real hoot to catch. The only bummer was that this was the perfect setup for throwing jigs, and I didn't bring my casting rod. I made a few circles and figure-eights, trying to stay close to the schools without driving them down. After a few short strikes, and a ton of sargasso weed, the downrigger line finally went off. It was not one of the epic battles, although handling the boat, multiple lines, and fighting a fish while solo is always entertaining. When I got the fish close enough to see the mackerel shape I got the gaff ready. It looked like a small king, and since I couldn't tell if it would be legal, I put the gaff down and tried to get to my landing net. Every time I turned to reach for the net (on the other side of the boat), the fish would take off again. Finally, I had it right alongside, and that's when it flashed that black dorsal fin. It was a huge Spanish! The gaff came back out, and in a moment, the fish was on the deck. A 25" Spanish mackerel is not an every day occurrence... but if it's going to happen, the fall run is the time for it! Later, after I used up my king baits, I ran back inshore and decided to see if I could get a few more Spanish. I have a neighbor who appreciates when I drop off a few filets. I put out two lines with a 0 and a 00 Clark spoon on #1 planers, and started dragging toward the beach. In the space of about 20 minutes, I had landed 8 fish (two shorts and six keepers). That was all the fish I felt like cleaning, so I pulled in the lines and headed for home. The take away? The fall run is kicking into gear. This is the time to get out there and get after them.