Early Season King Mackerel Fishing Tactics

The water temps continue to tick upwards; Mother’s Day has come and gone which can only mean King Mackerel fishing is getting underway. The big question is, what’s the best way to prepare for the 2024 King fishing season for maximum success? There are actually a few pretty simple steps that you can take to have what could be your best King Mackerel season ever.

Ok, let’s start with the simple stuff. Go online and check out the social media sites of fishing clubs and groups. See if any of them have been caught and where. Then call those anglers in your fishing circle and see what they’ve got to say about their recent trips. Another trick is to check out the Facebook of local fishing piers. When the Kings start to bite on the piers, you know the season is here.

Hopefully, you have your fishing notes from last year at about this same time. Look and see when the biting started and what the conditions were at that time. When you see things line up with the current conditions, head to the boat ramp and get going. A simple but effective ploy is to just check the water temps and see if they have gotten to 70 degrees or more. If it has, the biting should start to happen, and you’ll know that the season has started. While I prefer 72 degrees or more, I have often times caught Kings just under 70 degrees.

If you’ve just installed a new electronic navigation product or software, make sure to practice with it and get the feel for its use. Heading out fishing once the season kicks off and trying to learn and tune in your latest toy may result in frustration and a wasted day of fishing. Get familiar with it first and you’ll get maximum results on the first trip after the Kings arrive.

Now, I know that these preparations sound simple, and they are. But overlooking just one of them can delay your King Mackerel fishing success. Now, we wouldn’t want that, would we?