Mackerel fishing is fun, fast & action packed. And, we have been doing a lot of it recently. With only short weather windows to get out onto the water. Targeting spotted & school mackerel while the kids are on school holidays is perfect, if you are looking to secure a quick, easy meal. Spotted & school mackerel are also very easy to catch when the right conditions exist. They are also very easy to clean & very tasty. Just watch those teeth!
One of the most effective ways that we use to catch them, is by casting metal slugs or by using jigs. In this blog post, we will discuss the basics of how we approach mackerel fishing using metal slugs & jigs. We will show you the lures we use, how to rig them & offer a few tips for reeling in your catch.
Lures
First, let’s talk about the lures we favour for mackerel fishing. Generally speaking, we tend to catch mackerel while also targeting tuna schools or when jigging shallow reef. In Hervey Bay waters, we find that 3 inch / 90 to 110mm metal slugs & jigs weighing approx. 40 to 60 grams work well.
We particularly like using the Major Craft range of Jig Para lures – Available Here.
And, also the Gorilla range of metal slugs – Shown Here.
We tend to use the JigPara Short 40 & 60 gr in silver or red gold colours. And, the Gorilla metal slugs in glow white colour, again 40 or 60gr. Of course, both lure types come in a variety of sizes, colors, & weights, which can be purchased at most fishing tackle stores.
Rigging
Some people will swear that you need to use a wire trace when fishing for mackerel & other species with teeth. We find that once you attach a wire trace we get fewer bites. But, not using wire is risky! The trade off is that you can lose tackle to mackerel if you opt to only use a fluoro or mono leader material. I am sure for the big game boats that are targeting giant mackerel. Wire traces are a must. But, for our method, we simply stick to a heavier 30 to 40lb fluoro leader & accept the risk.
Interestingly, we have also noticed that if you are using a jig or metal slug with only a treble hook attached & you remove the assist hook found on many jigs. That our hook up rate improves & we also lose less tackle.
We tie directly onto the lure using a uni knot & avoid using a loop knot as we desire the metal slugs to swim as straight as possible while fast retrieving to the boat. We do the same if we are jigging. The shape & design of the jig provides plenty of action to attract fish.
Booking.comAreas To Target
At the time of writing this post, it is January in Hervey Bay. This time of year we find large balls of white bait moving into the southern bay. Some of this bait enters into the deep water channels which lie between the mainland & K’Gari – Fraser Island. Finding these bait balls is relatively easy if they have attracted birds. Birds have great eye sight & can track these bait balls even when they are well below the waters surface. They often wait for the bait ball to rise near the surface & then dive into the bait ball hoping to catch themselves a feed.
If there are no birds diving or no surface activity to indicate where bait balls might be located then we default to fishing near structure. Navigation markers are perfect – watch here.
You can also try jigging shallow reef, artificial reefs, casting near rocks, piers, or other structures that provide shelter for fish.
Free – GPS Marks – Hervey Bay & Fraser Island – Here.
Booking.comTechnique
Find the birds or surface activity, cast & rip that lure back to the boat. That in a nut shell, is the main technique we use when fishing for tuna and/or mackerel. If we are casting around structure, like a navigation marker, we use the same technique.
When casting your line, be sure to let your lure sink a little before you start to reel it in. We generally start by counting to 5 slowly once the lure hits the water. If we fail to get a hookup on that cast. On the next cast we count to 10 to let the lure sink a little deeper & so on & so on until we get a bite. This will also help to mimic the movement of a wounded or stunned bait fish.
Most good quality metal slugs will flutter as they drop through the water column. Quite often if tuna and/or mackerel are feeding hard they will pick the lure up as it is sinking & while you are relaxing counting to 5 they will start ripping line from your spool.
Jigging
When jigging, we use a very similar technique. The only difference really is that instead of casting out towards a target. We are dropping our jigs vertically, straight down onto structure or under a bait ball that is close to the boat. We prefer to switch to a proper jig such as the Major Craft range of Jig Para lures – Available Here – when dropping vertically. As these jigs are specifically designed to flutter through the water column & can be retrieved back to the boat in a number of different ways.
At first, we simply drop the jig down & then reel it back up as fast as we can. If that does not work, then on the next drop we will drop the jig to the bottom & crank the reel handle fast for perhaps 3 or 4 turns. Then open the bail arm & let the jig sink for a second or so before closing the bail arm & again reeling as fast as we can for 3 or 4 more turns of the handle. Do this repeatedly until the jig returns to the boat. The idea being to imitate a bait fish that is wounded & which is trying to flee. Aka a easy meal for a hungry mackerel!
Wrap Up
Mackerel fishing using metal slugs or jigs is an effective & enjoyable way to catch these delicious fish. Hopefully we have provided you with enough information to start your mackerel fishing journey. Remember, there is no substitute for time on the water to help you locate bait balls, diving birds & structure. If your fishing around Hervey Bay, I recommend always having a designated tuna/mackerel rod rigged & ready to go!