Mackerel ID

One day last week I saw several undersized king mackerel landed on the pier (mid octi) which were originally mis-IDed as spanish macs.

Once you learn the distinctive feature of the black dorsal fin visible from the pier deck while the fish is still in the water you can decide how best to proceed to ensure a good release.
The lateral line 'drop' on a king is a secondary close up ID.

Attachment 808


They are even harder to tell apart when they are smaller.
In this old (scanned) pic the king in the middle is bracketed by two 'keychain' spanish macs.
Attachment 809


Hope these pics help!

This is why it is best to net large Spanish, not gaff them. If you gaff an undersize King and then see the lateral line drop; too late, you have killed an illegal fish. $$$$