Thread: Sight fishing Spanish

Went out of the Pass a couple days ago wanting to target spanish and kings. Had two light setups, one with a gotcha and one with a spoon.. on the way out of the pass I could see the spanish boiling and feeding.. I threw right in the middle of the schools many times, and could get nothing to bite..I guess they huge bait ball was enough to satisfy them.. I also trolled a duster rig and a big diamond spoon throughout the day pulling right through the fish and only came home with two.. Any tips on how to put more spanish in the ice box?

When we're out on the boat and see fish actively feeding we throw a straw rig. It's stays on the surface and gives the appearance of fish chasing bait and makes a lot of noise.

My standard trolling g rig for Spanish was always a small Clark spoon with a short wire leader then a 8' 50lb mono leader then a swivel and an egg sinker. Egg sinker weight varied from 1/4 to 3/4 oz to vary depth. Trolled at from 4-7 knots. There is an ebb tidal shoal around the mouth of the pass, usually got bites when we passed over the seaward edge.
I've had similar experiences with them when they are busting the surface. Frustrating!!

Back in the day we used to throw speck rigs or Looney Jigs with a 30# clear mono leader on 6# spin outfits.
As soon as it hits the water do a 'ripping' retrieve about as fast as you can reel.
It'll wear you out, but that method ALWAYS got finicky spanish (and bonita) to bite!

Almost forgot, boat placement is critical as well.
Sometimes the motor noise (even in idle) will 'put the fish down'.
We would make wide half circles around the school and get upcurrent/upwind at least 150-200 yards,
then turn the boat back toward them and cut the engine so we just drifted to them as they fed upcurrent toward us.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the advice..sounds like Im not too far off the mark!

I second pier#r's advice on the speck rigs. Sometimes trolling through the school spooks them too much, so put the speck rig on a setup that lets you make a long cast. It is near impossible to work the lure too fast, though sometimes it is good to let it initially sink for a few seconds. Also note that if you are not actually seeing spanish jumping completely out of the water, you might be chasing bonita, which can be totally unwilling to strike something different than what they are feeding upon.

When they are feeding on glass minnows you have to match the hatch. Throw something tiny and shiny. All last summer I would chase those schools in my yak with a gotcha and never had much luck or the school would pass right throw a cigar I was drifting. I started throwing a small clark spoon and working it fast and had much more luck.

Originally Posted by AA

When they are feeding on glass minnows you have to match the hatch. Throw something tiny and shiny. All last summer I would chase those schools in my yak with a gotcha and never had much luck or the school would pass right throw a cigar I was drifting. I started throwing a small clark spoon and working it fast and had much more luck.

Awesome. Thanks for the advice. Do you retrieve the spoon as fast as possible?

Like noted, you cant out-reel a hungry Spanish when they are in a feeding frenzy!
But a pause or two will sometimes trigger strikes you might not otherwise get.

I think the reason spec rigs work so good if because they look like glass minnows.