Alabama’s Target-Rich Mackerel Waters
Fish the Platforms at Night
Editor’s
Note: Anglers on the Gulf Coast will find a target-rich
environment there for hunting big kingfish. The State
of Alabama has the largest artificial reef-building
program in the nation, and many of these reefs have
big king mackerel swarming over them. The Department
of Conservation's Marine Resources Division has charted
hundreds of public reefs with Loran coordinates and
DGPS coordinates at www.outdooralabama.com/fishing/saltwater/tides-weather/.
You also can pull down maps of the area at this site.
For each public reef you pinpoint on the map, three
to 10 unmarked and unnamed reefs may exist within the
designated reef-building area. The state permits individuals
to carry reef material out to the reef-building zone
and deploy that material without having to tell anyone
the exact location. When you’re fishing for
king mackerel, keep your depth finder on, and search
for hidden reefs as you go back and forth to the reefs
you plan to fish. Artificial reefs attract baitfish
that will draw in big king mackerel. Generally the bigger
reefs will attract the larger mackerel. However, anglers
may locate big-king honey holes on the many small reefs
that most fishermen will overlook.
Often during the summer months, around reefs, wrecks
and oil platforms, the king mackerel will come in to
feed at night. Many times, the king mackerel will be
just under the surface, and you can catch them free-lining
live bait or dead cigar minnows. Oftentimes, you can
get the king so excited, they’ll rally (go on
a feeding spree),
and you can catch numerous really-big kings using this
tactic. If you have lights coming off your boat, those
lights will draw baitfish to the boat and the baitfish
draw the king mackerel, and that’s the reason
they’ll go on a feeding spree. I believe that
one of the reasons mackerel will hit a dead bait at
night is because they don’t know that the dead
bait hasn’t been killed by another king mackerel.
King mackerel are slash feeders, and they’ll often
go through a school of baitfish with their razor-sharp
teeth open, slashing, cutting and injuring the bait.
Then, the king mackerel will circle back around to feed
on the bait. So it’s not uncommon for a king mackerel
to see an injured or dead baitfish floating in the water.
And, at night when they can’t see well, I think
they can smell
the bait. Dosing your bait with menhaden oil can add
to the appeal of the bait to the king. Many tournament
anglers will fish in the Gulf of Mexico around offshore
platforms. Most of the time, the anglers will troll
live eels or live blue runners. If the kings are really
rallying around the oil platforms, the anglers will
even throw out a live bait or a dead bait on a drift
line. Oil and gas platforms hold a tremendous amount
of baitfish and usually hold good numbers of king mackerel.
At night, the lights from the oil and gas platforms
concentrate more bait and often more king mackerel.
So, if you’re on a two-day trip, and you’re
going to stay offshore overnight, don’t forget
the possibilities of catching king mackerel after everyone
else has gone to sleep because the kings will bite at
night.
For more information on the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention
and Visitors Bureau, visit www.gulfshores.com,
or call 800-745-SAND.
To learn more about fishing the Gulf Coast, contact
the Orange Beach Fishing Association at 251-981-2300,
or visit www.gulffishing.net.
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