Fishing on a head boat does require interaction with strangers. Following some basic rules will ensure that you fully enjoy your party boat experience.
The first stranger you will meet is the mate. He will greet you at the dock, help with your equipment and get you situated at a place along the rail. The mate will be your primary contact with the crew because the captain will be in the wheelhouse for most of the trip. The mate should also treat you well because he works for tips. He also knows more about head boat fishing than you do, and the prudent angler will heed his advice.

Head boats attract a cross-section of society. I have fished alongside doctors, lawyers and people who had no discernable source of income. There will be English teachers, or folks who do not speak any English. Experience will also vary, with there being salty regulars and newcomers.

If you work together with your temporary family of strangers, you will not only improve your chances of being successful. You will also enjoy the trip more. I have fished on party boat trips where I had made many friends and continued to fish with those people after the trip was over.

Party Boat Tackle

Most party boats will supply tackle to those that need it. The boat will supply tackle for the day, either free or for a small fee. Because their tackle sees some pretty severe use, it could be worn and a bit heavy for your taste.
On the other hand, light tackle has no place on a head boat. Do not take anything on board that cannot control the fish you are trying to catch. If you try to fish with light tackle and hook a striper, when the fish runs, it will tangle all other lines near you.

Your new temporarily family of strangers will not be happy with you.

If the boat is drifting live eels in deep water, a Penn 320GTI, spooled with 30-pound test, is as light as you want to go. If you are casting bucktails or jigging metal lures, an Ambassaduer BG7000HS is a good choice.

When matching the reel to the rod, be sure the rod has plenty of backbone in case you have to lift a striper over the rail. I use braided line on both of my outfits. Be aware that in a head boat situation, it is sometimes necessary to cut the line when tangles are severe.

Terminal tackle should mimic the type used on the boat. When drifting eels, most head boats will use some type of circle hook rig. I prefer to tie the leader directly to a 3-way swivel, but others still use a fish-finder rig. I find the circle hook works best. By tying the hook to the swivel and placing the rod in a holder, the striper will hook himself when the line comes tight; no setting the hook is required.

Size Matters

When tying on a lure or sinker, make sure everyone around you is using the same weight. It is critical that every rig hit bottom together and is carried by the current at the same rate. Different weights will drift at different depths and will tangle with those running below or above. Once again, this results in unpleasant encounters with strangers.

Drifting Eels

Many head boats drift eels for fall stripers. This is a pretty easy method where the eel is hooked through the mouth with a circle hook and dropped to the bottom. When a striper picks up the bait and brings the line tight, he hooks himself.
Some boats will use a fish-finder rig live eels. This requires a bit more interaction by the angler. The striper is allowed to run with the eel for a few seconds, then the angler engages the reel (if using a conventional reel), lets the line come tight and sets the hook.

If the angler is using a spinning reel, they must pay attention to the reel and be ready to open the bail if a fish takes the bait. After letting the fish run and inhale the bait, they then close the bail and bring the line tight. Remember not to set the hook when using circle hooks, as you will lose the fish.

Once the fish is in sight, do not tighten the drag. Bring the fish to the surface but do not lift him out of the water. Back away from the rail, and give the mate plenty of room to net your fish. Most head boats have a high rail and it is not easy to net a fish from this perch. Trust the mate to do the job without directions from you. Do however, follow the instructions of the mate, or your prize may be lost.

Casting and Jigging
Some boats will target striped bass with casting lures, including metals and bucktails. A white bucktail with a white plastic tail is the standard bait, but a Storm or soft shad body has become very popular. The idea is to use a lure that will cast well and sink quickly. I choose a Stingsilver or other metal lure, especially on windy days.

Get Down!
When stripers are on the surface, there are often larger fish under them. Try to get your lure on the bottom and work it slowly to imitate a crippled baitfish. In this case, a bucktail with a Mr. Wiffle is the ideal bait. It only takes a slight resistance to get the tail moving in an enticing manner.
Most folks will cast to breaking fish. However, there are times when a cast is not necessary. If all around me are sending lures to the horizon, I will drop mine straight to the bottom. Sometimes this works, and sometimes not, but at least I don’t get tangled with the mob.
Fishing for stripers on a head boat is not only fun, it is inexpensive. I have seen entire families out for a fun trip and go home with a limit of stripers. Go grab a few fishing buddies or take along the family for a good and productive striper trip on a head boat. Have fun!

For those fishing the salt up north, the water is still awfully chilly, but those fishing south of the Mason Dixon line, like off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts, are already seeing great action for striped bass and bluefish. More fish will be coming north soon as the waters warm.

Happy Easter; great spring fishing is upon us and it’s only getting better, so get out there and fish.

DJS

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.