FISHING FOR KING MACKEREL
Upper Hand Pensacola Fishing Charters with Captain Brandy Wallace
King Mackerel, often called Kingfish or just Kings, are the most abundant large game fish caught in nearshore waters just off the coast of Pensacola. They are voracious predators that put up a great fight when hooked. Although most of the King Mackerel caught on our Pensacola offshore fishing charters are in the 30 to 40 pound range, they can reach reach up to 6 feet in length with the Florida state record being 90 pounds.
King Mackerel, like cobia, are migratory fish spending their winters in South Florida and travelling up the Gulf Coast to Pensacola and the Florida Panhandle each spring to their summer spawning grounds in the northern Gulf of Mexico. They'll start biting in the Pensacola area, usually around mid-April, and the bite will be full on in May. Fishing for King Mackerel off the coast of Pensacola is good all summer long. King Mackerel can be caught in the Pensacola area up until cold weather arrives in the Panhandle area in late fall or early winter when they will once again head to South Florida for the winter.
King Mackerel are typically found in shallower, nearshore waters, commonly in depths of 40–150 feet, but may occasionally be found in deeper water. King Mackerel can be caught while trolling in open water as well as around piers, wrecks, artificial reefs, rock ledges, channel buoys, inlets and wherever large schools of bait fish can be found. In autumn, before the weather and local waters really begin to cool, they will even show up in Pensacola Bay, feeding on the large schools of bait fish found in Pensacola Bay that time of year.
Because of their abundant numbers, King Mackerel season is usually open year round in Florida state waters which extend to 9 nautical miles off the Gulf Coast.
For current seasons and catch limits for King Mackerel in Florida go to:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's King Mackerel Fishing Regulations