Spanish mackerel, the small streamlined cousins to the popular king mackerel, can reshape a boring outing into an exciting trip. Case in point: My frequent fishing partner, Bill Killian of Orange, and I fished the short rigs off Sabine Pass last summer and mauled the mackerel. We were catching many spadefish on light tackle, and occasional bull redfish and shark on the big rods, but there was not much action otherwise. That is, until a big school of Spanish mackerel picked up the chum line and start feeding like crazy around the boat.

Killian was the first to get a bite. He was fishing with a slow-sinking Mirrolure that had a green top and bottom with chrome sides. The fish could not resist the bait as he slowly reeled it through the frenzy.

I did not bring any of my plugs along for the trip, so I rigged up a dead shrimp under a popping cork. This seemed to suit the mackerel just fine.

The water was clear enough to sight-cast to the fish. When the frenzied feeding was over, a number of the fish remained in the area. Each time we saw them dart through the chum line, we threw right to them. Sometimes they would ignore it, but other times they would hit with great fury.

Something I have learned about these mackerel over the year is that the best chum is small menhaden. Throw out the tiny baitfish by the handful. Some will sink while others float. Something that sinks too fast or only floats on the surface does not keep the mackerel's attention as long—and that is important. Spanish mackerel are famous for moving through an area very quickly and disappearing just as quickly. In a boat, this is no problem since you can follow them, but for anglers pursuing them in the surf or on piers, it is very frustrating.

Slow-sinking baits like some of the Mirrolures are great for Spanish mackerel, but so are spoons, Rat-L-Traps, and even topwater plugs. Some friends of mine always manage to catch some truly big Spanish macks while fishing topwaters along the surf at High Island.

Mackerel are fun but speckled trout are the focus of most anglers in June.

As summer temperatures heat coastal waters, many anglers shift attention to the surf and jetties for trout, but reefs are still productive places to fish.

Hannah's Reef on Galveston Bay is a well-known destination for trout fishing enthusiasts. The general practice is to make long drifts with the current and fish live bait like croak er on the bottom. Specks are suckers for the vocal baitfish and local marinas regularly sell out quickly when the action is hot and heavy.

Artificial enthusiasts do well bouncing soft plastics like the Norton Sand Eel and Sabine Snake on the bottom. Hang-ups are inevitable, but that is the name of the game when reef fishing.

A wind- or drift-sock can greatly aid anglers by slowing down their drifts. If the current is strong, which it often is, you cannot fish a lure properly. Slowing down the drift allows a more lifelike presentation and easier bite detection.

And finally a note for you anglers out there fishing the jetties for trout. We all know live shrimp can be magical for speckled trout on the rocks with the calm weather we've had. But like any mystical potion, other ingredients are required, and as we discovered, one of them is clear water. When I say "clear water," I do not mean it has to look like tap water. We rarely get water that clear on the Upper Coast, but visibility a few feet under the water is a good indication the conditions are conducive to catching lots of specks.

Last year, when the water was clear, shrimp paid off. When it was murky, all we caught were scattered trout and sheepshead.

No matter what you're after you have to put some thought into it unless you're one of those lucky anglers that always seems to fall into a great fishing trip. And by the way I'll take luck over skill any day of the week.

Chester Moore, Jr. is the Port Arthur News Outdoors Editor. To contact Chester Moore, e-mail him at cmoore@fishgame.com. or www.projectzooquest.org (Chester's Wildlife Blog). You can hear him on the radio Fridays from 6-7 p.m. on Newstalk AM 560 KLVI or online at www.klvi.com.