rhinorhino
New member
Mackerel - What is the best way to catch them on a hand line from a yacht? What boat-speed, depth of water, bait, time of day etc? I have had a couple of hits but it seems a little random, any hints?
Thanks
Thanks
Mackerel - How to catch?
- Thread starter rhinorhino
- Start date
hlb
RIP
First you need to know where the mackeral are. After that, it's easy!
rhinorhino
New member
OK, I'll bite - where are they?
G
Guest
Guest
Handline to PARAVANE ... then to spinner ........
Read my post ... where I am trying to get a full description / build-plans for paravanes !!
Read my post ... where I am trying to get a full description / build-plans for paravanes !!
Mirelle
N/A
According to my late father, a Professor of Marine Biology...
...who also held a Fishing Vessel Master's Certificate...
...and who had by far the best excuses for not catching any that I have EVER heard...
...it is simply a matter of going over a shoal, trailing something vaguely interesting, e. g. tinfoil, at the right speed.
...who also held a Fishing Vessel Master's Certificate...
...and who had by far the best excuses for not catching any that I have EVER heard...
...it is simply a matter of going over a shoal, trailing something vaguely interesting, e. g. tinfoil, at the right speed.
jimi
Well-known member
Re: According to my late father, a Professor of Marine Biology...
Is speed critical? I've caught 4 whilst doing 6.5 knots using a paravane, but they seemed quite fit?
Is speed critical? I've caught 4 whilst doing 6.5 knots using a paravane, but they seemed quite fit?
DJE
Well-known member
Re: According to my late father, a Professor of Marine Biology...
We tend to get bigger fish at lower speeds. About 4 knots seems pretty good.
We tend to get bigger fish at lower speeds. About 4 knots seems pretty good.
mtettmar
New member
Re: According to my late father, a Professor of Marine Biology...
Paravane or similar can't be beat. A rectangle of marine ply will do. I reckon 3-4 knots. Rounding rocky headlands at 3-4 knots with the paravane out rarely fails to catch.
Paravane or similar can't be beat. A rectangle of marine ply will do. I reckon 3-4 knots. Rounding rocky headlands at 3-4 knots with the paravane out rarely fails to catch.
PIGLETSDREAM
New member
Having just got back from the West Country, from where we managed to catch a total of 30 mackerel from the back of our Trapper 500, our method was through the paravane over the back with 6 lures on it, slow down to about 3 to 3.5 knts and have about 30meters of line out. No problems, despite everyone we met telling us there were no mackerel to be had.
webcraft
Well-known member
Re: Mackerel - How to catch something else . . .
We can nearly always catch mackerel trawling a paravane with feathers or little plastic squiddly things attached . . . inshore, offshore, wombling free, the buggers are everywhere. We have caught them at various speeds up to six knots plus, but 2-4 knots seems the best speed range.
Little ones taste better and are easier to cook / debone etc. Favourite is fried in oatmeal and then sprinkled with vinegar.
My question is how do you catch something else? SWMBO has landed a few saithe recently spinning when at anchor, but they are pretty tasteless IMHO.
- Nick
We can nearly always catch mackerel trawling a paravane with feathers or little plastic squiddly things attached . . . inshore, offshore, wombling free, the buggers are everywhere. We have caught them at various speeds up to six knots plus, but 2-4 knots seems the best speed range.
Little ones taste better and are easier to cook / debone etc. Favourite is fried in oatmeal and then sprinkled with vinegar.
My question is how do you catch something else? SWMBO has landed a few saithe recently spinning when at anchor, but they are pretty tasteless IMHO.
- Nick
ghostwriter
New member
your missus\' nickers
a true story ... anchored off Rotterdam on a big tanker, having nothing much to do we start fishing but there is no real fishing gear on board, at least no lures. for some time we try whatever but no success, suddenly one of the AB's comes up with a load of white pieces of cloth, let's try these he says, and lo and behold, you won't believe it, but we had a truly miraculous catch, kilo's and kilo's of mackerels.
afterwards it appeared that those white pieces of cloth were the ripped down nickers of the stewardess ... the AB stole them from the washing machine room.
we never tried to find out the sex of those mackerels, there was no point in doing that I guess, and of course, when the stewardess went berserk over the loss of her undies calling all of us perverts we just couldn't stop laughing /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
2 weeks later she jumped ship, ran off never to be seen or heard again.
a true story ... anchored off Rotterdam on a big tanker, having nothing much to do we start fishing but there is no real fishing gear on board, at least no lures. for some time we try whatever but no success, suddenly one of the AB's comes up with a load of white pieces of cloth, let's try these he says, and lo and behold, you won't believe it, but we had a truly miraculous catch, kilo's and kilo's of mackerels.
afterwards it appeared that those white pieces of cloth were the ripped down nickers of the stewardess ... the AB stole them from the washing machine room.
we never tried to find out the sex of those mackerels, there was no point in doing that I guess, and of course, when the stewardess went berserk over the loss of her undies calling all of us perverts we just couldn't stop laughing /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
2 weeks later she jumped ship, ran off never to be seen or heard again.
G
Guest
Guest
Maas Anchorage
On the coasters ........ we used filaments from the orange mooring lines ... as feathers .......... Mackerel till you were sick of the sight of 'em !!
On the coasters ........ we used filaments from the orange mooring lines ... as feathers .......... Mackerel till you were sick of the sight of 'em !!
snowleopard
Active member
I'm told the ideal is to troll along the 5 fathom contour on a rising tide at around 3 knots.
brianhumber
New member
Several cheap hooks on a thin line with bits of silver foil.
No more than 3 kts boat speed and hey preso, they will jump on the hooks.
Reel in and starting the head bashing with a spot of gutting for good measure , pop in boiling water and bobs yer uncle
No more than 3 kts boat speed and hey preso, they will jump on the hooks.
Reel in and starting the head bashing with a spot of gutting for good measure , pop in boiling water and bobs yer uncle
ChrisE
Active member
When you are in The Solent try around Sconce Buoy, around SW Shingles or south of The Bridge around the top of HW. If you have the time to heave-to then that's well worth while. Lower the line down about 10m then pull it up to 5m and repeat until cockpit full of fish. Best results when weather has been calm for a while beforehand.
BlueChip
Active member
Not Mackerel, but I saw a guy last week fishing in Haslar Marina and he showed me a big Sea Bass he had pulled out, he caught it using a piece of roast lamb - he also had half a dozen crabs about 6-8" across his daughter had caught with a line. I thought there were only Mullett in there.
bobgosling
New member
Mullets' favourite food is anything that floats in a harbour ...
You really want to eat one now ?
You should find Bass in one of two places; 1) Hard on the bottom usally in a hole waiting to ambush anything that passes , 2) Second wave out in the surfline of a beach ( Whitebait committing suicide in large numbers is a giveaway ).
You really want to eat one now ?
You should find Bass in one of two places; 1) Hard on the bottom usally in a hole waiting to ambush anything that passes , 2) Second wave out in the surfline of a beach ( Whitebait committing suicide in large numbers is a giveaway ).
dralex
New member
You also get bass up the rivers where the tide is running. Interesting about Haslar- last time I was there two lads caught a 4pound bass by running along the pontoons trailing mackerel spinners in the water. I bought it off them for a fiver. As far as mackerel go, I struggle to catch them when we're doing more than 4 knots ( most of the time now). The speed of the boat can also hold the paravane under, so you end up with drowned fish, which I suppose reduces the bloody mess in the cockpit.
Jinks
Member
Re: Mackerel - How to catch something else . . .
Agree with most people but if you haven't got a paravane just drop weighted feathers in about 40 ft of water. Let it sink to the bottom then raise it about 10 ft and jiggle them about. If you hit a shoal they won't even reach the bottom.
As for other species, having caught and killed a small mackerel, cut its backbone out by slicing along it from the tail toward the head to make a "flapper" and put a reasonable size hook through its top lip. Troll this behind the boat at anything up to 4 knots or just dangle it about 15 to 25 ft down. Very good Bass bait.
Agree with most people but if you haven't got a paravane just drop weighted feathers in about 40 ft of water. Let it sink to the bottom then raise it about 10 ft and jiggle them about. If you hit a shoal they won't even reach the bottom.
As for other species, having caught and killed a small mackerel, cut its backbone out by slicing along it from the tail toward the head to make a "flapper" and put a reasonable size hook through its top lip. Troll this behind the boat at anything up to 4 knots or just dangle it about 15 to 25 ft down. Very good Bass bait.
Mirelle
N/A
There is a really good spot for bass where Martlesham Creek joins the Deben, one hour after HW.
Local seal knows this, too, he had 6 whilst we watched - not all small, either.
Local seal knows this, too, he had 6 whilst we watched - not all small, either.
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