We are experiencing a season of mackerel mania. There are so many mackerel in our local waters that — even though they are smaller fish — they are dominating the food chain by sheer numbers. At the same time, bigger fish are gorging on mackerel.
Between the robust food source and warm waters, this may turn out to be an epic year for recruitment (making babies) of some of our favorite sport and food species, such as white seabass and halibut and thresher sharks.
I’m painting a very positive picture of the overall impacts of our mackerel mania; however, in the short term, there are prices to pay in terms of what it means to fishing this season.
Here is how it works. Squid spawns are a major driver of the portion of the food chain we like to eat (e.g. white seabass, halibut, bass, etc.). Squid come into shallow water at night to spawn and lay their eggs. Normally they hang out for several days in an area and are joined by more squid the following night. Many die during the spawning process, which provides easy fresh food for fish.
This season, the squid are coming in at night to spawn as usual. At first light of morning, the hordes of mackerel are all over the squid in a major feeding frenzy. That drives the squid out deeper and we have very little squid during daylight hours. Because of this, our big fish do not have the concentrations of squid to stay and feed on, so they roam constantly, looking for feeding opportunities. They will feed on mackerel, but they move around a lot to feed.
This gives us a problem, when fishing for white seabass, halibut and other prize gamefish, because hot bites don’t have a chance to settle in for several days. Instead we have to hunt and peck at them, settling for onesies and twosies. At this time of year, during most years, we find major bites that last for many days and sometimes weeks. This year it just isn’t so.
Please don’t take any of this as a complaint. The food chain is a complex and wonderful thing, and I wouldn’t dare change it if I could. But this sure is a strange year.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
