Spanish vs King Mackerel ID made easy

Pier#r · 09-22-2008, 10:24 PM

In the pic below can you tell which is a king and which is a spanish?

Not being able to tell the difference can be VERY expen$ive. Not knowing the regulations can be too :doh

It's easy to see the large black 'sail' dorsal fin on the spanish mackerel (top fish).
And note the lateral line 'dip' and the grey colored dorsal fin on the king (bottom fish).

BTW, here's a chart of king mackerel weight to length comparison (averages) that may help judge the legality of small kings.
You can see that over 4 pounds is about the average for a legal (24" fork length) king mackerel.

At our last ACFA tournament a member caught similar sized spanish and king mackerel (5# +)
Both were legal so I took a couple of pictures for comparison. Thanks Mike & Austin Lee!

Hope this helps! :letsdrink

Midnight Run · 09-22-2008, 10:26 PM

its $350 not like i know or anything:banghead:banghead

Linda · 09-22-2008, 10:55 PM

OOH OOH I know!! Look for that black flag =)

~Linda

09-22-2008, 10:24 PM	#1
Pier#r Senior Member Snapper Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 427	Spanish vs King Mackerel ID made easy In the pic below can you tell which is a king and which is a spanish? Not being able to tell the difference can be VERY expen$ive. Not knowing the regulations can be too :doh It's easy to see the large black 'sail' dorsal fin on the spanish mackerel (top fish). And note the lateral line 'dip' and the grey colored dorsal fin on the king (bottom fish). BTW, here's a chart of king mackerel weight to length comparison (averages) that may help judge the legality of small kings. You can see that over 4 pounds is about the average for a legal (24" fork length) king mackerel. At our last ACFA tournament a member caught similar sized spanish and king mackerel (5# +) Both were legal so I took a couple of pictures for comparison. Thanks Mike & Austin Lee! Hope this helps! :letsdrink

09-22-2008, 10:26 PM	#2
Midnight Run Senior Member Snapper Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Pensacola Posts: 516	RE: Spanish vs King Mackerel ID made easy its $350 not like i know or anything:banghead:banghead

09-22-2008, 10:55 PM	#3
Linda Senior Member Sailfish Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Panama City Beach Posts: 1,458	RE: Spanish vs King Mackerel ID made easy OOH OOH I know!! Look for that black flag =) ~Linda __________________ www.pckfa.com www.captlinda.com

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)