By Scotty Kyle

You do not have to bow before me, although they often call me “king”. They call me so, across many cultures and languages, because I am the largest of my family, the Scombridae, in the Atlantic Ocean. I also fight like a tiger, I am as strong as an ox, wily and elusive. Unfortunately, my taste also places me amongst the best of the best. Although I am a top predator and feared by many denizens of the fish kingdom, humans pay me with a different sort of reverence and pursue me with vigor. As befits the royalty, I have several names: Cavala in Brazil, Carita in Columbia, Serrucho in Cuba, and in the English-speaking part of our realm I am known as the King Mackerel or simply Kingfish.

A Living Torpedo: King Mackerel Appearance

We are impressively hydrodynamic, being “torpedo-shaped” or “elongate and strongly compressed” as is typical in our family, which includes the tunas and many other mackerel species. We are covered in small scales and our back is bluish-grey on top while our flanks lighten to almost silvery on our belly.

We do not have markings on our flanks and, unlike our cousin the Spanish mackerel, we have no dark spot at the front of our first dorsal fin. Our tail fin is deeply forked. Our mouth is large and at the front of our head and our jaws are lined with many prominent, strong, sharp, triangular teeth. 

We are a fast-growing, but also a long-lived species. Our greatest length recorded by man is 182.2 cm. (71.7 in.), with a mass of up to 45 kg. (100 lbs.). We are the largest mackerel in our region but the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, found in the Indian Ocean, can attain 200 cm. (79 in.) and 70 kg. (154 lbs.).

We can live for up to 20 years, but few of us manage to attain this due to disease, predation and, sadly, man’s fishing efforts. Most of my species being caught now are between 3 & 12 years of age and 76-114 cm. (30-45 in.) and we mature at between 2 and 4 years of age.

Succession Guaranteed: King Mackerel’s Reproduction

Our sexes look identical to you, but we can tell the difference. I hear that some human royalty may find it difficult to find a suitable match, but for us it has never been a problem. In fact, our sex life and egg fertilisation is rather impersonal. 

We spawn offshore, in deep waters, but high up in the water column. Large shoals of our species aggregate, mostly between April and November annually, and both sexes “mill around”. As our ladies extrude 70 000 to over 12 million eggs each, the males fertilise the clouds of eggs as they drift in the current.

The eggs soon hatch and our larvae, feeding voraciously on plankton, grow rapidly as they drift in the ocean currents. We do not often enter shallow water as juveniles, spending our time first drifting in currents and then becoming highly migratory.

A King on the Move: Distribution and Migration

Like the monarchs of the Holy Roman Empire in the Middle Ages, we do not stay in one stronghold, but constantly travel all over our sphere of influence, which includes the middle regions of the western Atlantic seaboard, from Massachusetts in the north and southwards to Sao Paulo in Brazil. We are found throughout the year in and around the Gulf of Mexico, much of the Caribbean Sea and along the northeast of South American coast, but we do not cross the Atlantic Ocean.

Each spring, in the northern hemisphere, we undergo a general northwards movement as temperatures rise and then return in autumn. In mid-winter we tend to retreat to the core areas of our distribution and, within that, congregate in deeper waters, often along the continental shelf. We do like to patrol, often alone or in smaller groups, along reefs and round structures but, otherwise, we love the open ocean. Although we prefer the upper layers, we sometimes descend, chasing food, to as deep as 183 m. (600 ft.). 

A King’s Feast: King Mackerel Feeding Habits

No matter where we migrate, we move actively and aggressively through the area in search of food. We feed throughout the year, but most vigorously in the warmer months, which is why humans tend to catch more of us in the warmer months and regions – and usually in the daytime.  We are generally daylight feeders, using our large eyes, and we find our fast moving prey a bit too difficult to follow after dark. 

Generally, we congregate in large shoals, sometimes of thousands of same-sized individuals, and then seek out and follow the movements of shoals of our prey. Our favourite food is small fish, such as sardines and anchovies, that congregate in dense shoals, and we often stay on the edges of these for extended periods. We will eat almost anything small enough to engulf whole, or that we can cut into bite-sized pieces. Mullet, and thread herring are tasty, but we will also take squid and shrimps if the opportunity arises.

People say we are “voracious” predators as we feed aggressively, speedily and extensively. We can become so engrossed in feeding that we leap high out of the water, called “skyrocketing” by humans, or feed right next to, or even under, fishing boats. But, although we feed enthusiastically, if something disturbs or frightens us we can disappear within seconds.

King Mackerel Fishing Practices and Management

Man catches us for his own basic needs, for sport and commercially. Commercial fishing is carried out using, mostly, drift nets, longlines and pole fishing and has been estimated at about 20 metric tons per annum. Good information is, however, scanty.

Management of “our” fishery is only carried out in the waters of the USA. Up to the mid 1980’s, our stocks were declining, but the managers implemented restrictions and drew up goals for improving stock levels. Apparently, this has worked well, and USA stocks are mostly in “good condition” while, further south, overall stocks have declined, markedly in some areas.

Recreational fishing is an important part of human tourism in many areas, and this is carried out exclusively by rod and line and, mostly, by trolling various baits and lures. Although some of my species are caught from the shore, piers or oil rigs, the great majority of recreational anglers fish from smallish, day-launching boats.

How to Catch King Mackerel

We are, apparently, an extremely sought-after sport angling species. We have a reputation for being “wily”, very fast-moving, strong-fighting, can attain a large size and, sadly and lastly, our flesh is deemed delicious. Casual anglers rarely catch us but there is now quite an industry in some areas, particularly along the Gulf and Florida coasts and in many Caribbean coastal towns, based on our species.

Locating King Mackerel

As we spend all our time on the move and also undergo large-scale annual and food related migrations, it is best to check the internet and also, later, local knowledge, about where and when our species is to be found. In some areas we are present, in numbers all year while in others we are a vagrant or seasonally abundant.

We move fast and continuously and so, although we may be in an area at one time, the shoals of our species can be hundreds of miles away a few days later, chasing some migrating bait fish.

Preparation and Logistics

There is a certain protocol, or shall we say several ground rules, that a serious sport angler abides to if they want to catch one of us. Firstly, check that we are, indeed, still present in an area. Secondly, secure a suitable boat, to get out to where we are to be found – one that also fits your needs and preferences.

Some commercial trip boats are large, with many anglers and “impersonal”, while others cater to individual tastes and needs. The skipper is all important, as he or she must be privy to the information on where we are in terms of location, and also what attracts us or indicates where we may be present or feeding.

Ideal Habitats and Hotspots:

While we spend extensive periods in the open ocean, we do love to cruise along structures like reefs and drop-offs, not for the cover, but to locate our preferred food items that often lurk near cover. Bait fish tend to congregate around objects such as large as oil rigs, but also small buoys marking channels or reefs and so we are often found close to these.

We are also found around “sea-mounts”, underwater tops of mountains that do not quite form islands. Sadly, most of these sites are now well known to good fishing guides and skippers and, being creatures of habit, we repeatedly visit the same places.

Surface Feeding and Indicators:

Occasionally we manage to force shoals of bait fish to the surface where it is relatively simple for us to catch them. This has its disadvantages though, because panicked fish on the surface attract birds who, in turn, attract the experienced fishermen who know this and scan the horizon for signs of us feeding.

Fishing in this situation must be extremely exciting for the sport angler as we are feeding voraciously and at speed and a “hook-up” with a good-sized member of my species is like hooking onto a torpedo.

When we are feeding on the surface, fly fishing or surface spinning can work extremely well, but they are not for the faint-hearted and it does not usually take us too long to realise something is wrong and then we disappear completely and suddenly.

Fishing Techniques and Tackle:

Apart from when we are seen actively feeding near the surface, most king mackerel are caught using medium to strong spinning tackle. These days, most anglers use a good quality fixed-spool reel with a large amount of strong braid. Due to our super-sharp teeth, a wire trace is highly recommended.

Most of us who get caught by sport anglers are caught by people trolling lures. We are often in deep water but can be at any depth. Many boats troll several rods and and initially have the lures set to “work” at different depths, until a shoal of my species is located. Once this happens, the other rods can be adjusted accordingly.

Generally, we like slow-trolled lures but, sometimes, faster is better so this can also be varied early in the day to establish what is attracting us on this specific day. People catch us on a wide variety of lures and baits, and those are often more dependent on their whims than our choices. Dead whole baits, carefully tied onto hooks works well, as do fish fillets. 

Most anglers now use artificial lures, but these can be soft, hard and almost any bright colour though we particularly love reds and yellows. Shiny and flashy is often good but our moods vary with conditions and what works in sunny weather today may not succeed in overcast conditions tomorrow.

Some sport anglers prefer drifting, using a variety of metal and plastic jigs and spoons, again of many colours and shapes. Drifting, using live bait can be very successful as we can rarely prevent ourselves from eating a live fish. Drifting works well as there is almost always a water current moving the boat and we are also constantly on the move. Some anglers prefer waiting for us to arrive while others move constantly trying to locate us.

Pay the Homage to the King Mackerel: Book a Fishing Trip

Fishing for king mackerel is popular, not just because we can be large and fight well, but because we are indeed “wily” and have not only to be found, but also to be “fooled”, not often easy in the open, deep-water ocean.  This means that the capture of a good-sized king mackerel is quite an achievement, and is known to be so. Our strike can be explosive and, once we are hooked, we sometimes leap high out of the water trying to dislodge the hook. Really large king mackerel are now scarce, but there is always the chance of landing one and then everything will have been worthwhile. 

Next in ‘Life history of a fish’

Life History of a Fish: Golden Dorado

By Aleksei Morozov

Some humans say I look like salmon, but we’re not related, even though my scientific name, Salminus brasiliensis, translates from Latin as “Brazilian salmon”. Unlike my namesake, I prefer the warm waters, and am one of the top predators in South America’s tropical rivers, which is why they sometimes call me the “river tiger”. My English name is what they call a tautology: in Spanish, “dorado” means “golden”, so there’s not much sense in adding an adjective with the same meaning. But I guess people just wanted to make me sound different from the saltwater dolphinfish (mahi-mahi). I am golden dorado. CONTINUE READING