Mackerel Season

haybob · 04-08-2012 12:42am

skipz wrote: »

Best feather pattern from macks is white feather with a red head, will out fish all colours.

Wouldn't agree with you there have found coloured feathers best in clear still seas, flasy lures better on duller heaviers water, have for one reason or another caught loads of macks with black feathers on fine evening too

Ronan cork · 04-08-2012 3:02am

Caught a few in ballycotton on Thursday about an hour after high tide, nothing like it was a few years ago but enough for a couple of lovely breakfasts!

skipz · 04-08-2012 7:48am

haybob wrote: »

Wouldn't agree with you there have found coloured feathers best in clear still seas, flasy lures better on duller heaviers water, have for one reason or another caught loads of macks with black feathers on fine evening too

Coloured feathers are great alright, but I always noticed out of all the colours the white got it the most. Bought just whites and tipped the tops with red and had great sucess.
The shiney plastic flashy lures are brilliant on evenings and down deep but if your on a shoal they get ripped and for the money they dont last as long.

dmc17 · 04-08-2012 12:09pm

skipz wrote: »

Coloured feathers are great alright, but I always noticed out of all the colours the white got it the most. Bought just whites and tipped the tops with red and had great sucess.
The shiney plastic flashy lures are brilliant on evenings and down deep but if your on a shoal they get ripped and for the money they dont last as long.

Sometimes they'll take just bare hooks if the feathers have fallen off. They're not too picky if you can find them

haybob · 04-08-2012 12:39pm

skipz wrote: »

Coloured feathers are great alright, but I always noticed out of all the colours the white got it the most. Bought just whites and tipped the tops with red and had great sucess.
The shiney plastic flashy lures are brilliant on evenings and down deep but if your on a shoal they get ripped and for the money they dont last as long.

Great to get other lads views, I never had much success with plain white feathers, I have tinfoiley yokes that arent as good as silver string wrapped around the hooks yokes both made by storm

martin46585 · 04-08-2012 1:21pm

His distance cousin caught off the east coast.....if kept in pristine condition, may well have been worth keeping, otherwise a great case for catch and release.....

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/irishsun/irishsunnews/article4469374.ece

Bobby Baccala · 04-08-2012 6:43pm

Fished howth harbour this afternoon, a few were caught, nothing major.

And lads, i dont understand this whole feather discussion. Anything relatively shiny and they'll go fir it, the oul lad said he used to use milk bottle tops and crisp packets and all sorts of shít as feathers, as long as you have something shiny that you know wont come off the hook you should catch your fish. Feathers are bollocks anyway, float fishing does it for me

haybob · 04-08-2012 8:48pm

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

Fished howth harbour this afternoon, a few were caught, nothing major.

And lads, i dont understand this whole feather discussion. Anything relatively shiny and they'll go fir it, the oul lad said he used to use milk bottle tops and crisp packets and all sorts of shít as feathers, as long as you have something shiny that you know wont come off the hook you should catch your fish. Feathers are bollocks anyway, float fishing does it for me

yearra we all havent the time to float fishing mackerel what ever about pollack, still clear water at dawn and ''shiny'' isnt half as good as feathers

PS I'd be interested in you thoughs on float fishing for pollack if you want to share them

irishbucka · 04-08-2012 9:24pm

lads when you say float fishing, do you mean using a bubble like you would for trout

Bobby Baccala · 05-08-2012 12:18am

haybob wrote: »

yearra we all havent the time to float fishing mackerel what ever about pollack, still clear water at dawn and ''shiny'' isnt half as good as feathers

PS I'd be interested in you thoughs on float fishing for pollack if you want to share them

I dont float fish for pollock, usually use a decent sized silvery spinner ie a german sprat or a connemarra krill.

I only use the float for mackerel or any rock fish like wrass and pouting etc.

dmc17 · 05-08-2012 12:43pm

I find these brilliant for pollock

http://c0.dmlimg.com/1fc1c1c2db5852e08ffc380475e26336bdf5c351999ca9fa317bb681f12174a0.jpg

haybob · 05-08-2012 1:32pm

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

I dont float fish for pollock, usually use a decent sized silvery spinner ie a german sprat or a connemarra krill.

I only use the float for mackerel or any rock fish like wrass and pouting etc.

I have a bar type yoke that I dont care for vey much, I have used jelly worms etc to fish for bigger pollock

dmc17 wrote: »

I find these brilliant for pollock

http://c0.dmlimg.com/1fc1c1c2db5852e08ffc380475e26336bdf5c351999ca9fa317bb681f12174a0.jpg

I have used something similar as well as a black feather which is only good for smaller pollack but I'm going to get some of those

rubbledoubledo · 05-08-2012 5:37pm

Hi lads
Went fishing for mackerel for the first time yesterday.
Went to Murrays first in Cork. Great service in there.
Was explained every thing, never rushed me one bit.

Any way went to Cobh around 5pm stayed until 8.
No luck. Around 7 or 8 fishing of the pier.
One guy caught a couple, the rest like myself nothing.

Speaking to a few, this year not good at all.

Zzippy · 05-08-2012 11:45pm

Macks are in on the west coast, huge shoals yesterday in Clew Bay, big fish too. Galway Bay has plenty too but they're mostly joeys so far, too small to keep.

Bobby Baccala · 06-08-2012 1:18pm

Zzippy wrote: »

Macks are in on the west coast, huge shoals yesterday in Clew Bay, big fish too. Galway Bay has plenty too but they're mostly joeys so far, too small to keep.

You're better off keeping them, throwing mackerel back is a complete waste of time. They die shortly after they're thrown back if they come into contact with human hands. You should maybe keep them as bait instead of sentencing them to death for no reason.

Zzippy · 06-08-2012 1:50pm

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

You're better off keeping them, throwing mackerel back is a complete waste of time. They die shortly after they're thrown back if they come into contact with human hands. You should maybe keep them as bait instead of sentencing them to death for no reason.

Sorry for misunderstanding, I wasn't fishing myself, just talking to a guy who was fishing. I was fishing Clew Bay alright and the macks I caught were kept. If macks are too small its possible to hold the hook and shake them off without touching them, I'd usually pinch the barbs down if we were getting joeys so it easier to do it...

Nodster · 06-08-2012 6:05pm

Caught a brace of them off the rocks on the ebb of high tide between the Lifeboat Station on Port Oriel Head. Very few fry about and as per usual a seal keeping sketch on tight lines

06-08-2012 8:12pm

Questions from a noob. If I was to go fishing off Greystones Harbour for mackerel/pollack/whiting, is sunrise/sunset the best time? Would it be a waste of time going in the mid-morning?

Zzippy · 06-08-2012 11:28pm

Dónal wrote: »

Questions from a noob. If I was to go fishing off Greystones Harbour for mackerel/pollack/whiting, is sunrise/sunset the best time? Would it be a waste of time going in the mid-morning?

High tide is best for mackerel, whatever time of day it is. Check the tide tables and fish a couple of hours before and after high...

Brad768 · 10-08-2012 7:09pm

Would it be worth giving Salthill in Galway a shot on saturday evening? Or a bit too early?

Mr Magnolia · 11-08-2012 2:23pm

I've taken a notion, borrowed a rod and found one spinner, I'm heading out tomorrow morning early. I'm assuming I'll need a weight. Any advice greatly appreciated its been 20yrs since I was last out.

AubreyMartin · 11-08-2012 7:59pm

Went to Clogherhead last night and didn't know if to bring a Camera or a Rod! Anyway the cam won and just as well too because this was in the harbour http://flic.kr/p/cPviDu waiting for someone to get stuck in a fish!
By all accounts there were only 2 or 3 caught all day and the high tide was 18:30.
Its not the same place with the new pier! Anyway life moves on I guess!

coolhandspan · 11-08-2012 8:14pm

Fished salthill today at morning high tide, nothing doing :mad::D:D

mattser · 12-08-2012 1:34am

FFS lads, I'm off to Dunmore East next week for the Bluegrass Festival....well not really, those with me are. Me ?.....Well I'll be hittin the flat rocks with me feathers etc, and I'll be royally pissed off if I don't have 3 for brekkie every morning of the weekend.
Fcuk off Mr. Seal.

Chavways · 12-08-2012 3:59pm

The fishing competition around Blackhead and Ballyreen in Clare was supposed to have been a disaster this week. Very few fish caught.Not even mackerel.

stretchaq · 12-08-2012 11:36pm

Slade/hook/dunmore all full of mackerel caught over 100 there in last two days alive with fish also got 3 pound bass two rockling two dogfish and two wrasse full of fish

coulagh1986 · 15-08-2012 12:50pm

P4DDY2K11 wrote: »

You're better off keeping them, throwing mackerel back is a complete waste of time. They die shortly after they're thrown back if they come into contact with human hands. You should maybe keep them as bait instead of sentencing them to death for no reason.

Never knew that.
More mackerel for the cats so then

BoarHunter · 15-08-2012 3:47pm

coulagh1986 wrote: »

Never knew that.
More mackerel for the cats so then

Give them to neighbours and relatives. You don't know, you might have to ask them for a favour one day or another

It's better than giving them to the cats in my opinion

rubbledoubledo · 15-08-2012 4:28pm

I would be putting them in a freezer.
Eating them 2 or 3 months time, when they will not be a mackerel in sight.

Just a question about tides.
Say in Cobh the tide comes in 8 in the morning, 8 at night.
Would it be the same time say in Ballycotton.
Do times change from time to time.

I am new to mack fishing.
Fished in Cobh a few weekends no luck. Others no luck either.
Thinking of going to Bally

Chavways · 15-08-2012 5:25pm

rubbledoubledo wrote: »

I would be putting them in a freezer.
Eating them 2 or 3 months time, when they will not be a mackerel in sight.

Just a question about tides.
Say in Cobh the tide comes in 8 in the morning, 8 at night.
Would it be the same time say in Ballycotton.
Do times change from time to time.

I am new to mack fishing.
Fished in Cobh a few weekends no luck. Others no luck either.
Thinking of going to Bally

Is there any shop that sells fishing tackle near Ballycotton? They should be able to tell you the difference in times accurately enough. Where I go fishing(Fanore) there's a special tide book just for the area and the time difference for places like Limerick and Galway are on the back.

Mackerel Season

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