The Sierra Mackerel or Sierra is one of the more common and feisty members of the Scombridae family, which also includes Tuna.
It's characterized by its elongated body, short snout, blue green on the back, silver-white sides and belly, and
a series of small to medium sized yellow spots on its sides. It has 7 to 10 finlets between the second dorsal fin
and the caudal fin and between the anal fin and the caudal fin. The Sierra might be confused with the Spanish
Mackerel which doesn't have the same spots.
We caught some huge Sierra's while trolling big Rapalas off Punta Mala, near Esterillos Oeste, Costa Rica. I had a lot
of people tell me the meat wasn't very good but I liked it. Cheers to Dan Gibson of Jaco for getting me the small Sierra
Mackerel I used for the Gyotaku rubbing on this page.
Click the link to see my Mackerel Gyotaku art for sale:
Photo above right courtesy Mexfish.com / Eric Brictson, Gordo Banks Pangas.