Without a picture we will all be guessing, however if you are tacking it could be your settings are a bit off either too many amps or too much voltage or the metal isn't clean and you didn't mention the weld process, but generally you should be on an angle. As this post is in the ARC welding section I will assume that it is MMA welding you are talking about, so I would guess that it is too many amps or crud on the metal related.
I've always found that steel ground to a polish or bright mild tend to attract spatter a lot. In the absence of anti-spatter sprays, I clean off using an old flat file with a sharpened 45 degree single edge. Makes a good chipping hammer as well. Break off the tang and you can usually chisel off the more stubborn spatter.