Bass will eat anything so although they wouldnt be my first choice , yes they will eat a mackie head ...

 

It al depends how soon those heads were put to freeze. its all about that blood . Obviously for it to be a head its been cut that then loses blood. From a anglers point of view once the head has been cut off it needs to be stood up nose down then straight in to freeze. when buying from bigger chains the heads get chucked in to big containers till full could be hours at a time,loseing that blood that makes head so atractive to bass. You will still the odd fish on a poorly prepared frozen mackerel heads, but the catch rate will be far superior with a bait that has been frozen with the blood still within

 

So would buying a whole frozen mackerel be better and cutting the head off and using that better ? Then using the fillets as bait too ? Hoping to be able to get some fresh mackerel but just thinking of a backup 🤔

 

If you are going to buy frozen, why not just use squid, would trust that against a mackerel head any time.

 

Surely though if frozen squid works so well then then mackerel should do to ? I read so much about frozen fish and baits doing so well with rays ect why wouldn't it attract a bass if they're there ?. 🤔

 

Have caught some nice Bass on Mack head , it helps if you fish a beach where tinsel tossers regularly head and tail their catch before leaving, the bass get used to eating along the waters edge !
One of the big plusses of fish head baits is they are fairly crab resistant and can be left out long after other baits would have disappeared.

 

Very good bit of advise. I was only reading a couple of days ago about 2 match anglers on a rover match, who would pre bait with macks cut in half for 4 weeks before the match and then bag up.

 

Another vote for bluey although a macky head and guts slows the dogs down.

 

Intresting 🤔 how do you hook one up ? With a pennel and no bait elastic ? I've only ever used bluey in small chunks targeting rays (never caught on it either 🤣) but I know it works so keep trying it !

 

Pennel and bait elastic, nose down. I trim the beak and tail off first.

 

Good answer only thing i can ad is to puncture the bait for max blood leakage

 

I have always used them never thrown them away only caught big doggies on them though.

 

Btw yes, if mackerel are running on the beach you’re fishing, then whole fresh or even live ones is a superior bait if you can catch a few while bass fishing.

 

we love the heads out on the boat - great bait for Conger, Bass, and the big rays - also keeps the dogs away - and the scent trail and activity form smaller fish must help too!

i always save the heads off mackerel i eat - and we often fight for them on the boat when we want a decent bend in the rod!

 

Are they fresh then though Mike?

 

not always no = obv better fresh

but I do have frozen ones too - or they are the heads of the previously frozen mackerel that weve taken with us

we've recycled them often too - I didnt catch anything in half hour on one, my mate tried had a decent conger -they'll still catch if washed out!
(but conger will eat anything!)

 

I had a 9lb Bass on a frozen mackerel head that I had cast out for several hours trying for a Conger Eel. It had been refrozen aswell. I also had my previous pb of over 5lb on a mackerel head too but I think that was just frozen once and cut at the mark.

My pb bass of 10lb 8oz was on a mushy sandeel that had been in and out of the freezer more than twice. I've also had a 5lb 6oz bass while float fishing, which I caught on the smallest mackerel skin strip I'd just dropped back in the water while I cut a new strip from the frozen bait.

In my experience it doesn't matter as much as people think it does, my best bass was on what people would say is the worst condition bait.

 

You could be overlooking something here. Lots of small prey items feed on fish baits and when a bass go's to enhail a prawn or crab that happens to be feeding on your bait it takes the whole lot in. Some believethis accounts for the small hardbacks commonly found in bass .
On the other hand if a bass is hungry it will eat any thing.
On the other hand if you have confidence in your bait you will catch.
Food for thought.

 

An interesting thread, it makes sense to me that the bait of choice should be matched depending on that given circumstance for the best success. Mackerel head is a good bait if the area is plagued by dogfish or if it's a known area where discards are thrown back e.g. piers, by fishmongers, by bait tables. Similarly, when the spider crabs plague up the estuaries or on the open coast, spider peelers if you can get hold of them as well as normal peelers in season etc. Most of the time in estuaries I fish squid baits, mainly due to striking the balance between being more resistant to crabs, attractive to the bigger bass, availability, and cost. It comes into it's own in Autumn, often combined with a wrap of lug, suggesting we as anglers are best off matching the hatch.

Something I want to try more as I haven't given it much of a go yet but hear it's superior is live baiting for bass. Hoping to give it a go this year, mostly off the steep beaches like Chesil. My best bass was from a mackerel bait that had been stripped to the bone, but I'm sure that was more luck than anything and maybe, as mentioned above, was likely due to the crabs which could've caught the bass's attention. Hear quite a lot that bluey is better than mackerel where both are used in general situations, and also that gar is very effective.

 

We’ve also had big rays take just the mackerel frame.

 

Well I had a first for me this evening my first ever bass on bluey nothing huge but 44cm bass was well welcome and saved a blank targeting rays 🐟

 

Another bluey convert! 👍

 

They work fine, the problem is presentation - If you 'lip hook' them (even going through the skull instead of nostrils) they've a habit of sliding round the bend of the hook. Personally I use more than just the head - 1/3rd or 1/2 the length of the fish.

 

Before this thread I hadn’t even considered bluey for bass. I’ve got some in the freezer that needs using. Thanks

 

Good luck 👍 they certainly work alright 👍

 

Im curious which way is nose down when the heads been cut off. Or even where the nose is when the head is on..
I wouldnt worry about loss of blood meself, but you could always cauterize any veins and arteries in a frying pan if you do.

 

Mackerel is an overrated shore bait in my opinion - even fresh strips
I believe it washes out far too fast - its ok to use for free from some you caught or people around you but its just a backup bait - a big thick strip is only good for rays and congers whilst boat fishing, its not a good shore bait in smaller amounts for smaller species
frozen mackerel is no good to man nor beast and people need to stop kidding themselves and stop taking so many - I like them but I just take enough for my fridge only - four big ones is about right, nice and fresh for a couple of meals eaten straight away- I always use barbless hooks so any small ones go straight back - I use light lines and single small hooks for them with a strip of squid - preferably freelined
I'd far sooner use squid for bass, loads more scent and doesn't wash out anywhere near as fast - I've had bass on squid baits that have been dangling out there for several hours

 

Any bait that gives out more scent but hangs on to more scent at the same time is a phenomenon !
Frozen Mack has caught lots for me ( beach and boat) for decades !
Funny how some anglers can catch on a bait while others cannot !

 

Welcome to the forum ......big statement from you to start your WSF career .....i catch and freeze at least a hundred for my winter fishing ....i will use every bit of every one of them .....huss love em ....big eels love em ....black bream love em ....gars love em .....squid is £5 a box ......unless i can catch my own i dont bother very often ....tight lines

 

big statement from you to start your WSF career

I started my fishing ''career'' 30 years ago mate


But anyway - how much do we get paid??

 

Well the the head and third of a frozen mackerel did me right a couple months back taking a bass of just under 6lb 🎣🎣