King Mackerel

King mackerel are a long, streamlined mackerel with an iron-gray back, silver sides, a lateral line that drops sharply below the second dorsal fin and a mouth full of razor teeth. Small kings carry faint yellow spots and are often confused with Spanish mackerel and cero; the diagnostic marks are the sharp dip in the lateral line and the lack of a black patch on the front of the first dorsal fin. Big females over 30 pounds are called smoker kings for how they burn drag.

Kings range from Massachusetts to Brazil but the US fishery is centered from North Carolina around Florida and across the Gulf to Texas. Two migratory groups, a Gulf stock and an Atlantic stock, move north in spring and south in fall following water above about 68°F (20°C) and bait, with the biggest fish wintering off the Florida Keys and south Florida and summering off the Carolinas and the northern Gulf.

Kings are pelagic schooling predators that hunt menhaden, cigar minnows, blue runners, mullet, ribbonfish and squid over reefs, wrecks, ledges, color changes and the beaches themselves. They feed by slashing through bait at high speed and frequently skyrocket clear of the water on a strike. They hold near structure in 30–150 feet, come within casting range of piers in spring and fall runs, and bite best on moving water and in the morning.

For anglers, king mackerel are the people's offshore gamefish: a center console or even a pier is enough. The Southern Kingfish Association tournament circuit built a whole style of slow-trolling live bait on light tackle, and a 50-pound smoker from a Gulf pier or a Carolina ledge is a lifetime fish. Kings are decent eating when fresh, excellent smoked and carry high mercury levels in large sizes.