I’ll grant you that almost all music can be subjective, except for bluegrass performed poorly.

Rock and rollers of my generation are united in our belief that one of the all-time great tunes is Little Feat’s live version of “Spanish Moon.” If that baseline doesn’t get your blood moving, it’s likely you’re a corpse.

Following this logic, few Chesapeake sport fish pump the adrenaline quite like a skyrocketing Spanish mackerel, especially when you bear witness to a full-blown blitz. Typically, in cohoots with bluefish, the snack the macks are devouring is bay anchovies, the Chesapeake’s most abundant forage.

Silversides and young-of-the-year bunker (juvenile menhaden) can also be on the menu. These melees can pop up anytime, anywhere, and it is not uncommon for the fracas to be over soon after it began.

Few Chesapeake sport fish pump the adrenaline quite like a skyrocketing Spanish mackerel, especially when you bear witness to a full-blown blitz. (Chris D. Dollar)

My summer would not be complete without the aquatic acrobatics of Spanish mackerels. Like their pelagic relatives tunas and wahoo, macks have forked tails that serve as after-burners.

Because mackerel schools roam at a fast clip, they’re notorious for being thick in an area during one tide cycle and then gone the next. Most Spanish mackerel in Maryland waters are under two pounds, but we’ve seen a bigger grade of fish in recent years.

Farther south, they routinely top four pounds. Dean Mitchell set the Maryland record (Chesapeake Bay) for Spanish mackerel at 12.4 pounds in 2007.

As for Spanish mackerel lures, you have choices. If I only had one pick, I’d chose Rain Minnows by G Eye Jigs every time, and twice on Sunday. These metal jigs come in half-ounce and one ounce and several colors. A proven killer lure, they feature 3D eyes glued into the custom formed indented sockets on its sides for ultimate protection. Fish can’t resist the pearl flashabou that’s hand-tied onto a Mustad saltwater hook. Rain Minnows flat out catch fish.

If you prefer to troll for bluefish and Spanish mackerel, spoons dragged behind planers is your best bet. Gold or silver Clark’s or Drones spoons in sizes #0 and #00 trolled on size one and two planers. You can also use inline sinkers, but that is not my preference. Bump up your boat speed to at least six knots, perhaps a knot faster or slower depending on current and tide conditions.

For sheer excitement, nothing beats catching Spanish mack on the fly. Though not nearly as efficient as spin or bait-casting gear, the pay off can be worth the extra effort. Any pattern that resembles a rain minnow — shorthand for anchovy or silverside — works.

Flies tied Clouser-style as well as Gurglers and epoxy flies with lots of flash chucked on a nine-weight outfit loaded with an intermediate line is my go-to setup. Keep in mind that Spanish mackerel have sharp teeth, though they don’t seem as vengeful as blues in my interactions with them. So tying on a bite tippet is a good idea.

I always chuckle when folks wax poetic about the harmonious Chesapeake Bay or concoct some silliness about a crab’s revenge. Please. To get a complete and true picture of our wonderous bay, some of you all need to peak beneath the Chesapeake’s surface once in a while to see for yourself the mayhem that lies below.

Panicked baitfish summoning every ounce of energy to try to escape marauding bluefish and Spanish mackerel is a prime example. From wild Chesapeake bedlam comes angler joy. Intoxicating.

As table fare, Spanish mackerel and bluefish sometimes get a bad rap. This opinion is peddled by people who have neither the patience nor skill to prepare them properly.

The key is to dispatch them quickly, bleed them out, and put on ice or ice bath as soon as possible. It is equally important to eat them fresh, as they do not freeze well.

(Conservation note: Seriously, do we really need a fifteen fish creel for Spanish mackerel in Maryland waters? Five is plenty for one person. Any more, and we’re just encouraging waste, in my view.)

Outdoors columnist Chris Dollar suggests smoking Spanish mackerel. (Vladimir Mironov / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

I prefer them either grilled or smoked. For grilling, marinate for a few hours. Combinations of orange juice and soy sauce. I’ve also experimented with pineapple juice, or topped with a mayonnaise (Duke’s of course! Everything else is child’s play) based topping that includes Old Bay and pepper.

I don’t smoke fish nowhere near as much as I did back when my brain was almost totally consumed with fishing. These days, I use a pellet fueled, electric Traeger smoker, so setting the temperature to 225 degrees Fahrenheit is a snap. Play around with flavors of pellets; I like applewood for fish.

Brine recipes are numerous. I use equal parts sugar and salt, soy sauce, bay leaves, and ground pepper. If you use a cup of sugar and salt, add at least two quarts of water.

Smoke the fish for a minimum of two hours until the internal temperature of the fillet is at least 130 degrees. These are ready to eat, but if you want to freeze or use later for dip, lower the smoker’s heat to about 165 degrees. Continue smoking for another hour or so, keeping an eye on the fillets to make sure you don’t dry out the fish.