How to Fish Around Mullet Schools

During the warm water months (May to October), you will often see large schools of mullet in the Gulf of Mexico running parallel with the beaches. Mullet are vegetarians and not very good to eat unless you are fond of mullet pie. Every now and then you snag one when they are in schools, but it is accidental. Mullet schools can assist you in increasing your catch.

Instructions

1. Mullets are especially helpful to kayak and pedal boat users when the Gulf is relatively calm and the water warm. These schools are usually very elongated and move at about 0.5 mph parallel with the beach between the second and third sand bars and further out. They may be as long as 100 yards and contain thousands of mullets. They swim very close to each other for protection from predators, which is rather effective as game fish like to single out a single target. A closely packed school acts as a blind fold.

2. The schools do not attract gulls or terns as the mullets are too big and pelicans like to focus on 1 target so you will seldom see any bird activity around the schools.

3. You won't have any trouble spotting the mullet schools and you can get quite close to them in a non-motorized boat. The sound of a couple of hundred mullets swimming slowly on the surface sucking water through their gills for bits and pieces of vegetation and plankton is unusual and worth hearing.

4. What you are looking for is the occasional line of mullets exploding out of the water as a predator shoots through the school. You can judge the size of the predator by the size of the line of jumping mullets. If you are close enough to the school when a large shark goes through it you can get showered with mullets.

5. Do not try to fish in the school of mullet unless you fish very close to the bottom and very slowly so your lure can be singled out. Otherwise fish along side of the school close to the surface and about 3 to 5 yards from the school. Game fish and other predators hang around in that area hoping for a straggler. They usually go right through the school when they attack.

Tips & Warnings

• If you hook a game fish, work him away from the mullet school. If he is hooked in the tongue and bleeds you might lose him to a shark before you can net him.