Love them or hate them Mackerel are almost iconic in the Mackay region because they grow so big & it seems many fishos want their photo taken with a real big fish.
Spanish Mackerel occupy first position as the largest in the mackerel family and debated by many, are also one of the best to eat. Big Spanish will take to a variety of techniques & trolling is a very successful and popular method because it covers a lot of available territory in a short amount of time. This is important because at times the window of opportunity available to mack chasers is very small.
Spanish Mackerel aren’t always massive as this ten
kilo pair demonstrates.
Early morning bites can go off almost as quickly as they turn on with a rising sun often being the end of a session. That very short period of being able to just make out your mate in the boat to sunrise is sometimes all that is available. Similarly, toward the end of the day as the sun sinks provides another prime time.
Rigged baits utilising weighted heads or sinkers fashioned onto wire traces are ideal to troll for big mackerel. Baits of ribbon fish (wolf herring), pike (senate) gar and mullet are all suitable if rigged properly and don’t spin or twist when underway. There are a number of big plastic lures available and given the right conditions these are successful in catching mackerel. The most popular colours include white with a red head and mackerel blue. A number of brands include these colours among others in their range.
This fish was taken trolling a ribbon fish & weighed 28 kilos.
Anchoring and putting out a floater is another way of catching big mackerel however, as opposed to trolling you just need to wait until a big mack comes along and finds your bait. Normally in this situation you’ll be fishing the bottom as well and a mackerel is a bonus.
Floating baits may be live fish or any of the above mentioned troll baits. Even pilchard will account for a good sized Spanish.
A good Spanish Mackerel has the ability to bite a broom handle in half so fingers are best kept well away from the business end. A good gaff is almost mandatory if mackerel are a possible catch.
