Why you'll never share your mackerel fishing secrets

How? Mates who would otherwise share intimate details of their fishing success suddenly become very guarded about what they are up to.

When the mackerel are on, boat ramp car parks right along the coast fill to overflowing with trade utes, and everything to do with building, plumbing and bricklaying pretty much grinds to a halt.

The two species of interest are the spotted and Spanish mackerel. Spotties are the poorer table fish, but are more numerous, and the consensus is that they are good fun until a Spanish happens along.

Northern NSW in particular has enjoyed tremendous mackerel seasons over the last few years. Warmer water, no floods (mackerel aren’t fans of dirty water), but also the end of ring netting in Hervey Bay has seen numbers explode – spotties especially.

Mackerel are occasionally found travelling in open water, but reefs, bommies and headlands where baitfish like yellowtail, slimy mackerel and pilchards abound are they key locations.

A slow-trolled slimy mackerel run well back, and another off a downrigger covers depth options. Just watch the sounder at all times, as there’s nothing worse than driving the bomb into the reef. Most times it ain’t coming back.

The moment they cross the border, mackerel become far more canny and suspicious of poorly constructed rigs.

Both species are equipped with a wicked set of choppers, so wire is a must. Single strand is relatively invisible, but on some days it’s necessary to drop down to 32lb (#.012) to get a bite.
Unfortunately, a big Spaniard can bite through this with ease, so it’s a calculated risk.

Learning to do a neat haywire twist with a barrel roll finish is essential. Whether knots or working with wire, practice makes perfect. We’ll cover this important rigging skill soon.

A chemically sharpened hook up through the nose, and a stinger down by the tail — ideally a treble — will pin a lot of tail bites, which is the mackerel MO.

A third hook can be rigged between the two, but it does hamper the bait and it won’t swim as long. No matter how many hooks you put in the bait, sometimes they manage to avoid them.

Those who chase mackerel for a living use overheads like Shimano’s perennial TLD 15 on 8.0-inch Ugly Stik rods.

The long rods have plenty of give, and help keep the small hooks in place. These are spooled with forgiving 15kg mono — not braid — as it leads to too many pulled hooks. Drag settings are also quite light.

When bait becomes hard to catch, it’s time to troll dead baits. Small tailor, bonito, mackerel tuna, frigate mackerel and garfish are good options, delivered via chin weight rigs. These are fairly cumbersome affairs, but get the results.

Both species will eat lures if bait is non-existent. Something as simple as a pink squid over a ball sinker for the spots, and Halco Laser Pros for the Spanish.

Mackerel teeth are just deadly, so once aboard every fish must be despatched with a couple of whacks between the eyes with a fish bat before unhooking.

A 15kg Spaniard is a long fish, so the standard snapper ice box isn’t going to cut it. While the catch can be gilled and gutted, in NSW the law states that fish must be landed whole, The alternative is an insulated fish chiller bag, or a long ice box specifically designed for macks.

And ice. Lots and lots of ice. Many so-called ciguatera symptoms are food poisoning through bad handling practices.

In saying that, anything weighing more than 20kg is more suspect than the smaller fish, so best to cook some yourself before poisoning the whole street with your piscatorial largesse!