During the summer, most of the half day charters we do in Virginia beach fish for Spanish mackerel, taylor bluefish, and small sharks. We catch THOUSANDS of spanish mackerel per summer here. Spanish mackerel typically are fairly small at 1 or 2 pounds each, but they are fun to catch, great to eat, we can catch them close to the beach so people dont get sea sick, and kids can catch them, etc. Spanish mackerel fishing for inshore charter boats in Virginia Beach is our bread and butter.
The last couple weeks, we have seen some of the best Spanish mackerel fishing I have ever seen in Virginia Beach. There have been days where we could catch our limit of 15 Spanish mackerel per person and catch our 6 man limit of 90 keeper size Spanish mackerel in an hour or so, and some of them have been huge by Spanish mackerel standards. We caught a 29" fork length Spanish mackerel last weekend that weighed in at 8 pounds 12 ounces. We had 2 citation sized Spanish mackerel in the rain last night over 4 pounds. When you get Spanish mackerel that pull drag, you know they are some big ones.
On a side note, over the years, we have used a number of different baits and lures and spoons for this fishing and most of the tackle we have used is either Chinese made junk, it breaks corrodes, or doesnt stand up to the day to day test of charter fishing. Theres nothing worse than hooking up to a once in a lifetime fish and having a tackle failure. Several years ago, I became friends with Lev Huntington, owner of the Drone Spoons - L.B. Huntington Co., Inc. . He was kind enough to give me a tour of his lure making facility where all Drone spoons are hand made in Norfolk, Virginia, and have been for the better part of 100 years. After years and thousands of hours of trial and error, today we strictly use only drone spoons for our inshore trolling. Theres no cheap hooks that break when you finally hook that big mackerel, cobia, or huge red drum on the small gear. They are made with stainless steel so you dont troll them one time and they become pitted rusted corroded mess the next time you try to use them. Drone costs a smidge more than the other spoons, but the quality of an American made product is worth the extra couple dollars.
I would expect the Spanish mackerel fishing to continue to be great through the summer, and well into September. We have plenty of dates available for charter and this summertime fishing for Spanish mackerel in Virginia beach is a fun, easy, quick, and fairly inexpensive way to get your family out enjoying the water, catching fish. We welcome kids and people who arent experts at fishing and these half day trips are a perfect way to learn a little bit about fishing and the ocean.
If you are interested in a Virginia beach inshore half day fishing trip for Spanish mackerel, or any if the other trips we offer message me here, give me a call at 7577496008 or check www.matadorcharters.com.
Thanks and we look forward to fishing with you. |
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Inshore Fishing Trips 
