[Fatbhoy]

Forgive my ignorace, but what tackle is required and what is the general method of spinning from the shore to catch mackerel.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ian Houlton]

at last something i can answer, usually you would use mackie feathers, which are five or six hooks with either feathers or little rubber squid. clip that to your shock leader with a 4 or 5 ounce weight on the end. cast it out and wind it back. (something tells me that is not what you wanted to hear) i can do the winding back in thing but i can,t do the casting out thing. therefore any Qs regarding what to do if you catch one will need to be answered by someone else, as the original Q should have been.

 

[bassbites]

hi pce

you sure can spin for mackeral.. you can either use the normal mackie spinner which has a blade that spins on a wire with treble hook, add a little length of wool to the treble. its great fun catching them this way... you can use most of the abu style lures that look like a short flat eel with a kink in it. you wont be able to cast far but you will get the mackies hitting it hard if they are close in.

 

[Fatbhoy]

what type of ror would be best - I have a 9ft freshwater spinning rod, would that be ok.

 

[Ian Houlton]

sorry i did misunderstand the Q. u will have to forgive my ignorance

 

[bassbites]

hi pce

that will be fine and great sport too.. I hope you have real fun..

if you did want to try something else... buy one set of feathers and cut it down so you have either have one or 2 feathers on and add a 1 or 2oz lead...

 

[Fatbhoy]

Thanks Bassbite will give that a try. mabey Ill have a chance at catching something this time.

 

[bassbites]

You should do mate... may be garfish and launce too and the odd herring.... even bass if they are in the hunt for bait fish..

tight lines and good fishing......more so if the gulls are diving in too

 

[Woodster]

Totally agree with Bassbites buy a set of mackie feathers x 6 hooks cut them down to 3 hooks hey presto 2 rigs for the price of one. From a shore fishing point of view you should never fish a trace of more than 3 hooks. Anyway you can spin, feather for mackie on any rod. The first mackie caught by my brother was on a £6 pound rod from woolworths.

Woodster

 

[bassbites]

When was that woodster ....about 1973? that was an expensive rod then better than some at 30 squids now!!! and will last till your brother is a 100!

 

[Woodster]

When was that woodster ....about 1973? that was an expensive rod then better than some at 30 squids now!!! and will last till your brother is a 100!

Bassbites,

I know I am cheap but thats what got us started. Since then her in doors has curtailed any major spending?

Woodster

PS It was actually 1982 we got the rod and reel. One is not being bitchy, lol&k's

 

[keith n]

when i go on my hols in cornwall , i found the best (most fun) way of catching mack is to use a very light match rod , a couple of large shot and a sandeel. Just cast it out , let it sink and reel in slowly (its suprising how good a action it has) I had mack up to 1 1/4lb this way and god is it fun!!!

 

[bassbites]

woodster ..your not being bitchy or cheap.. I was only guessing a year

my dad swore by Woolies gear... still has some of there mackie feathers in the original packets... a lot better tied than some that are made today. He may still have some other bits too, he bought a lot of tackle when they started to stop selling fishing tackle...

As to cheap ...nope your not that either... I visited a girl in france in 1980 and bought a 3 meter hollow glass course rod with metal rings and plastic reel seat that pushes on to hold reel cost me 20ff or £2 squids...I have caught many good 4lb+ mullet (over 100) on it plus bass and flounders. I have used it for spinning and legering and most things inbetween, it won't cast more than about 2oz leads but they will zip out to 70 yards or so. One or 2 (ermm nearly all some held in place with electrical tape and some rewhipped on) of the rings have had to be changed over the years for fuji ones as the line wear had nearly cut some of them in half.and now use cable ties to hold the reel on.... It is still a rod i am happy to pick up first to take with me even though I have a Penn bass extreme which was over 25 times the price of this rod.

I was given an old alvey center spool reel i will use when i go go boat fishing one year...there is not a great deal that can go wrong with it except fall to bits!!

I am the cheap one mate and I am happy at that which counts the most... ohh and never look a gift horse in the mouth.... had some great tackle given too me.. hooks still in greaseproof bags and boxes and made of real steel.


I know I am way off the thread by now ... but many anglers seem to want the newest and most expensive rods and reels... the old one were made to last and give you full enjoyment of angling.. new rods now have tips that would normally be seen on carp lakes and rivers. a rod will fail whether it is cheap or expensive.. if you have kids that want to go fishing the kits you can buy some places cost £20 and have all the bits you could ever want in it... but down the road in a non-fishing shop they have a telescopic rod with a free reel and extra spool and a bag for the rod too (don't see many of them now even with expesive rods) for £15... I know you have to buy tackle and line for it but you can get the tackle they will use to fish.. not some of the cr*p I might use to scare birds with.. the rod might last a year or two or it might last 10 trips... if the kid enjoys fishing and is learning the art too...its been a very good start if they don't like fishing and stop ... you have a rod in the car taking up no space that you can take anywhere and fish with...my dad still has the 9ft peir rod he bought for me as a kid its sold glass and still in good shape after hmmmm £4 years.... off my soap box before i turn in to suds.

 

[sumo]

My favourite method is using a small silver wedge or bar spinner on really light spinning rods and line. Don't forget mackerel are closely related to tuna and put up a fight well above their size when given a sporting chance. Its great fun when a mackie takes line off you!

 

[John Mason]

Try the 28g Dexter Wedge - great catcher and big plus is that it casts a long way on 10lb line/9ft spinning-rod. Just retie it on occasionally in case all the casting has weakened the knot.

Cheers - John

 

[The Gow]

Yeah, the dexter wedge is the ultimate mackerel destroyer, if they're feeding hard you can pretty much catch them on anything from bare hooks to big plugs, I've had plenty on J13 plugs that are about half the size of the fish.

 

[Rock Goby]

Wouldn't recomend feathers mate.If you want some serious Maccy sport try bait spinning.On your 9 ft spinning rod use 6-8lb line.thread on a half oz bullet then a bead then tie on a swivel.Next add a two foot trace then a suitable hook(size 2 aberdeens are great).For the bait a short strip of Mac is best.Simply cast out and reel in in the spinning style.you'll also be able to cast a long way with this if your spool is properly filled with line.In my experience this is much better than any kind of spinner,and far more interesting than feathering.Float fishing is also an excellent way to catch Mac.Cheers The Goby.

 

[stinky]

Go with the 28g dexter wedge as advised, it always picks out the bigger fish. I use mine on a 9ft leeda rimspin rod rated to cast max 30g, I can get good distance with it, coupled to 6lb line It's proper sport and not bullying.

Please don't take that the wrong way, I also use feathers when I'm just after bait.

 

[Guest]

Or just use float gear, great fun when the float buggers off at a rate of knots and manages to pull line off against the drag, great fun, and you are wondering, "What the hell have I got on here". I have great sport with mackerel and garfish this way.

Bait: is the solver side of mackerel, cut in a way that it looks like small silver fish, sandeel works just as well, in fact, sandeel appears to sort out the bigger garfish and mackerel.

When you catch garfish make sure that you check the line as they have a row of dentures all along the beak and it coul/can damage the line!

 

[Manx Fisher]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no - feathers are evil, and not at all sporting

Much more fun to be had light spinning as had already been suggested. I am also a fan of the Dexter Wedge, but in truth any silver spinner will do the trick. Veals sell a cheap 'blue streak' which has caught me more mackerel than anything.

One thing I would add is that dawn and dusk can be fantastic times for mackerel spinning. I'm a bit lazy, so dawn is out of the question, but I have had some great sessions at dusk - the action goes on until it really is quite dark, and it is often difficult to pack up and go home because the fishing is so good.

A plea to all mackerel anglers: Only keep as many as you need, and if you are returning fish then you must only handle them with a wet cloth. Any other method of handling will result in the death of the fish. This has been proven with mackerel stocked in large aquarium - touch them and they die...