You know that spring is here when the mackerel begin running along the East coast. The spring mackerel run occurs before the return of the bluefish, weakfish, and the heart of the striper migration to East Coast waters. Anglers usually begin fishing for the mackerel in the Ocean City, Maryland area then run north to New Jersey, New York, New England and settle in Maine or north for the summer, depending on the season.
Commercial anglers have decimated the mackerel stocks, but organized anglers have once again worked to restore the stock with some success. While the mackerel are here, their numbers are still down. However, anglers can still catch good numbers of mackerel.
The Best Mackerel Tackle
Mackerel are easy to catch; so easy that anglers can quickly catch good numbers of mackerel. When fishing from a small boat, an ultra-light rod and reel will score good numbers of macks. Today, many macks visit areas like the local ridges and ocean lumps sometimes 20 miles offshore, and given the time of year, few anglers have their boats out of being winterized and fishing.
There is another option that many use – they fish off of party boats. Party boats along the East Coast will begin fishing for macks in March, and northernmost party boats will fish for mackerel through the summer.
As a kid, we fished for mackerel in Maine, from both party boats and small skiffs. Fishing the Casco Bay for mackerel, we would fish the harbors and inlets with ultralight tackle and single mackerel jigs. They provided fast and furious action where we would land hundreds of hungry macks.
When fishing from a party boat, a medium action conventional rod and reel spooled with 20-pound test line is your best bet. Why fish with such heavy gear? If the fish are deep (which they will often be), anglers can pull them up from the deeps without problems.
The Best Mackerel Rigs
Mackerel feed on small baitfish, period. Anything that mimicks small baitfish score well with macks. Remember that the mackerel are usually small (up to 12 inches) so they prefer small spoons, spinners, tube rigs and diamond jigs. With that said, I’ve cuaght mackerel on 5-ounce diamond jigs in Maine when cod fishing.
The standard mackerel rig consists of anywhere from one to five hooks dressed with plastic tubes. These tubes are tied to a length of leader via dropper loops, and a swivel (to help prevent line twist) is at the top of the rig. The bottom of the rig has a sinker snap and sinker tied to it.
In recent years, some of the hot colors for the tubes were fluorescent red or pink, chartreuse or gold. When drifting conditions are good, anglers also substitute a diamond jig for the sinker to give the rig a little more punch.
When you are above a school of mackerel, all you have to do is lower the rig down to the bottom (or where the school of mackerel is located), jig it up and down a couple of times, and bang! You will be into the macs. Sometimes the schools of mackerel are so thick that your rig won’t get halfway to the bottom before you have a mac on each hook.
In this case, it’s often better to use a two-hook rig that will limit you to two fish at a time. It makes the fishing more fun, and since you only have two fish to take off the hook, you’ll be back in the water a lot quicker. Some anglers, however, prefer to use four and five hook rigs, and there are plenty times when there will be a fish on every hook. Most don’t prefer this as multiple fish fight one another and provide no true sport when fishing. Pulling up a large boot would provide more action than five fish fighting one another.
Be sure to only keep the number of mackerel that you will use. Mackerel usually aren’t eaten, but many anglers use them for other purposes.
If you’re fishing from a small boat, go with an ultralight rig and a small spinner or spoon. You’ll have hours — and I mean hours — of action if you can get to the macks with light tackle.
Here’s the tip that no one knows. If you want to catch lots of mackerel, mix up a container of oats with cat food. You now have mackerel chum! Throw the chum overboard periodically, but be sure to keep a consistent chum slick that will attract macks — and other fish.
The mackerel chum will attract mackerel, often pulling them off the bottom, and will keep them around. The mackerel see the oats fluttering down from the bottom and think that it’s baitfish. The cat food’s seafood scent only confirms this for the macks. They frenzy – and I mean frenzy.
One time, we were mackerel fishing with a fly rod and doing well with the macks, when we hooked a mackerel. The fish fought hard, then BOOM! Something ate the mackerel! We fought the fish for a couple of minutes before it broke off. Who said mackerel fishing can’t be exciting?
Mackerel Are Excellent Bait
Because bluefish, weakfish and stripers feed on the mackerel, they make an excellent cut or whole bait for all three of them. Many fishermen who use mackerel for bait will spend the day on a party boat and load up with mackerel.
When the mackerel are hitting, one trip will yield all you need for bait. Anglers who fish offshore for sharks and tuna will also use mackerel as baits, so everyone loves mackerel.
You’ve got to love mackerel fishing. It’s a fun pasttime for everyone and provides good action for anglers along the mid-atlantic and northeast coast. Get out there and give it a try — it helps provide bait for the season and sometimes, you may catch lots more than just macks.
