Joined: Nov 29, 2004 Posts: 876 Location: UK South Coast
Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2005 5:41 pm Post subject: How to Catch Mackerel
Please post your Tactics / Tips on how to catch Mackerel in your local area here. Please remember in this part of the forum to click the reply button to post and Not the "New Post" button Also one main point to remember is that these new forums are intended to help totally new sea anglers to the sport so please post in great detail type of rods/reels used, explain about traces/rigs used, depth to fish and so on or anything else I have missed that you feel will help the novice sea angler.
1. From the shore using a spinner, lure or feathers. After the lure or feathers are cast out they are then retrieved at varying speeds so as to immitate small fry or fish and are attacked be the mackrel with great ferocity there by hooking themselves and hence striking is not needed. By variying the retrieval speed you also automatically vary the depth of your lures or trace.
2. From a boat normaly you use feathers which are lowered to the sea bed and then jigged up and down by lifting and lowering the rod so giving the feathers more movement, This method works very well with the longer rod of about 9ft. This should be done at varying depths until the mackerel are located. Once they have been located then unhook your catch quickly and lower you tackle to approximately the same depth as these fish are about in great numbers and tend to be pack hunters. On many occasions these fish will attack your feathers whilst lowering your feathers down. Bait in the form of small pieces of mackerel can be used to tip the feathers as an added incentive for the mackerel to attack.
Joined: May 20, 2006 Posts: 278 Location: Wiltshire
Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 4:45 pm Post subject:
When fishing with a lure the intention is to fool a predatory fish that your lure is a small fish, and therefore edible. Most lures have a bright reflective surface to flash in the water imitating the flash of light on a fishes scales, the lure is shaped to move about in the water on retrieve the motion giving vibrations that the predator will mistake for the movement of a prey fish.
Lure fishing is done with a lighter rod than that used for 'beachcasting' unless you count 'mackerel bashing' with feathers as fishing. Feathering refers to casting out a string (or set) of 'feathers'. Once they were white chicken feathers whipped onto a hook, now they are likely to be made up with metallic tinsel, beads or plastic mini-fish rather than feathers. The feathers are attached to the mainline, a suitable casting weight added to the end and the whole lot cast out toward the horizon. The feathers are then allowed to sink for a predetermined time and then retrieved using a 'sink and draw' action; assuming you are facing the sea and your feathers are fluttering down though the sea, pull the rod around to the side causing the feathers to 'dash' towards you, let the feathers flutter down again as you move the rod back to point to the sea whilst winding in the slack caused by the pull you have just done........repeat until the feathers are back with you. Very often the fish will hit the feathers as they sink, not on the pull. repeat the exercise until bored, tired out or you have enough mackerel for your needs. There is a knack to the technique, sometimes the shoal is working near the surface and a quick retrieve is used to keep the feathers up near the surface, not allowing them to sink too far; at other times the fish may be deep hence the need to count down the initial drop time allowed so that you can replicate the cast if you hit the shoal and catch fish. The cunning angler will laze about until others start catching nearby, then leap into action having noted the distance and drop time used by his more energetic neighbour. If you catch mackerel keep them cool ! People catch dozens, scores, even hundreds, put them in a plastic bag in the sun and carry home mushy fish that have already started to decompose. Take a cool box or bag with freezer blocks or frozen plastic bottles of squash or fruit juice,(delicious and refreshing as they thaw out ). Take only as many as you realistically need. Please don't catch them just for fun, if you handle the mackerel to unhook it and throw it back it will probably die due to the damage your hand or cloth has done to its scales and skin.
Use a shock leader when feathering to prevent a snap-off and to avoid maiming those near you. A shock leader is a length of heavier line about 7 to 10 times the numbers of ounces of the weight you use in pounds breaking strain. For example 4oz weight, 30 to 40 lb line; the line should be long enough to give you say 8' hanging from the end of the rod and half a dozen turns around your reel.
If you need some fresh bait quickly then feathering has a place, it is not sporting, to enjoy catching mackerel catch them one at a time; use a lighter rod an ounce or two of lead depending on the casting weight of your rod and a spinner, artificial eel or a wedge,
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