mackerel fishing

jwshooter · 10-08-2008 7:24am

Degsy wrote: »

No,its just the poxy weather we've been having.they may be inshore but they wont bite if the water's murkey because they hunt by sight.

anyting mackerel in slade or the hook at the min

Azphyxi8 · 11-08-2008 10:15am

I was out around Fanore, Co. Clare yesterday and nothing being caught.

gabigeist · 11-08-2008 12:39pm

Gents - How do I attach feathers?

I used to use heavy spinners as a kid for casting off rocks and just found the old gear yesterday. Took it to Bulloch Harbour rocks and caught a mackeral so I'm motivated to start fishing there regularly enough (never realised there was anywhere in Dublin). So far, I've picked up from this thread:

1) Fish around high tide
2) Try and avoid the seals
3) Cast as far out as possible
4) Use cheap feathers (3)

How do I attach these feathers and how do I use them? I.e. do I attach a weight at the end of the line for casting? If so, do I cast out and reel in or let it sit with the feathers streaming in the water above the weight? How far below the surface/above the seabed am I aiming to have the feathers?

All input much appreciated... I remember my dad seemed to know everything about fishing and I'd like to look at least semi-competent to my kids!

Cormdogg · 11-08-2008 12:53pm

Simple easy feather fishing, tie a clip on swivel or regular sviver to the end of your main line,attach one end of your feathers to the swivel,stick another swivel at the end of your feathers and then a 3 to 5 pound weight at the end. I like a four. cast out as far as you can then reel in jerking in the line as it goes tought. Fish supper,

Tip as you can see your tackle coming into you at the rocks lift your rod up at almost a 70 degree angle and increase your reel in speed to avoid tangles,

Got a few Mackerel and a Pollock at Poolbeg lighthouse yesterday, I usually fish off the rocks in Dalkey myslef but I find the rocks at Bulloch EXTREMELY snaggy, Venture further up to Colliemore Harbour and even better further on agin theres a park where you can walk out to the rocks,great snag free fishing there.

jArgHA · 11-08-2008 12:55pm

@gabigeist

rigging up feathers is very simple - when you buy feathers they often come 6 on a line, and at either end there is a loop tied into the line, something like this:

O---|--|--|--|--|--|---O

(where the vertical lines are the feathers coming off the main line, and the O's are the loops at either end). You simply put your weight (I'd recommend a 3oz. lead) on one end, you can do this without untieing the loop, and then attach the other end to your mainline, via a swivel & clip thingy.

As 6 feathers on one line is quite a lot, I generally cut these things in half to make 2 rigs that then look like this:
O---|--|--|--

Again, you just attach the weight to one end (eg. the remaining loop), and tie the other end to your swivel & clip, although you have less line to work with for making this knot/loop. If you are fishing in snaggy areas though you'll only be half as mad when you lose a 3 feather rig than if you had lost a 6 feather rig.

gabigeist · 11-08-2008 1:03pm

Cheers Cormdogg and jargha!
If I fill the superquinn bag with Mackeral I'll be sure to post. And if not then I'll be sure to bag some of the rubbish at least.

Cormdogg · 11-08-2008 2:18pm

I like your style jArgHA!

I'm also a true believer in the turn a 6 feather rig into 2x3 feather rig.Save your sixers for when you have a fish finder!

jimi_t · 13-08-2008 12:04pm

Cormdogg wrote: »

I like your style jArgHA!

I'm also a true believer in the turn a 6 feather rig into 2x3 feather rig.Save your sixers for when you have a fish finder!

If you're 'sport' fishing fine, but if you're fishing for your dinner then leave the 6 on, even if you're casting. If you hook one you're far more likely to snag a 2nd one with 6 hooks than with 3 when you're reeling it back through the shoal.

Also, single greatest tip when using feathers...

CUT THE FEATHERS IN HALF.

Smaller feathers catch both a bigger variety of fish and, strangely enough, bigger fish overall*

*imo of course.

Pirbright · 22-08-2008 3:24pm

Anyone catching any mackerel from High Rock, Portmarnock?

jwshooter · 23-08-2008 3:34pm

down in slade yesterday eve never seen any thing like it there was thousands landed i had about 80 in a hour brought home 50 ..3 for breakfast mmmmm

adonis · 26-08-2008 11:12am

where is slade?
still holding out for my first mackerel...

Degsy · 26-08-2008 12:30pm

adonis wrote: »

where is slade?
still holding out for my first mackerel...

Wexford i think

wex96 · 28-08-2008 5:41pm

Slade is on the hookhead, just head for hook head lighthouse

secman · 01-09-2008 11:24am

Mackeral were almost jumping into the buckets at Cahore on Sat evening. the guys were catching 4 at a go almost every cast, Saw 2 guys fill 2 buckets to brim in less than 30 min.

Secman

Ockham · 03-09-2008 3:15pm

Anybody have any suggestions for mackerel in the Galway City / Salthill area?

stretchaq · 12-09-2008 2:36pm

any mackeral round slade/carnsore point this week?

goods · 15-09-2008 12:39pm

Ockham wrote: »

Anybody have any suggestions for mackerel in the Galway City / Salthill area?

Anywhere along the prom at high tide

jArgHA · 15-09-2008 3:33pm

Caught 22 macks on Saturday out in a boat where Kinvara Bay meets Galway Bay. The mackerel were caught between 6 & 7pm (about an hour after high tide). Yum mackerel for dinner for a week!

stretchaq · 17-09-2008 11:41am

ant mackeral round rossdunestown or carnsore in wexford last couple of days???

chat2joe · 19-09-2008 1:00pm

Thousands landing the whole stretch of nimmos pier last night. It's been ridiculous for the last few days. Anyone got a spare freezer?!

gabigeist · 06-10-2008 2:24pm

Are they gone? I missed all of September and tried my luck yesterday off dalkey rocks but no joy. I even brought a plastic bag!! The shame of bringing it back.
I accept I'm a poxy fisherman but can someone please save me from hypothermia and confirm that the seas are in fact empty of the only fish in my league?

Cormdogg · 07-10-2008 9:43am

I got one mackerel bottom fishing at Dalkey Rocks last wednesday, Nolans Park or something they call it but the young lads that were there before me caught about 9 or 10. So they are still there. I have to go in the evening afterwork and the tide has been almost all the way out,then you've only got about 2 hours of light. Last Saturday of the West pier in DL people were getting them in dribs and drabs all day then plenty from 6.30 onwards. Going out this Wednesday I was think of trying from off 40 ft or go further in Dalkey as far as Sorrento point. If the mackerel arn't there on anygiven day or spot theres always planty of other fish to be had. Try and pick up as fresh a mackerel as you can from the fish mongers and bring it with you, bait up a couple of small bits on a pair of hooks and jus wiat,Something will fancy it.

stevo74 · 07-10-2008 1:55pm

yeah - the macks are still there alright. was there last friday & yesterday. Only caught one each day but saw a few being caught. Also picked up a couple of whiting and a tiny codling on mack strips.

Cormdogg · 10-10-2008 2:20pm

I had a nightmare at Colliemore last night,No fish and lots of lost gear. When I got there I set up two rods with bait.They but got securely snagged at the same time and to add insult to injury the water erupted with Mackerel just infront of me,right up to the harbour wall,1000's of them. By the time I had the line cut on one rod an attached my weights and feathers they were gone! 2 fellahs came down later and had said that the day before (sunny day) they were being caught in the 100's at Dalkey rocksw,Boo-urns!

I remembered why I had vowed to never to fish off Colliemore again!

jArgHA · 13-10-2008 3:56pm

Was walking on the pier (the one closest to where the baths used to be..) in Dun Laoghaire yesterday and saw 3 lads taking in a heap of mackerel at the end of the pier. Must have seen them catch about 10 mackerel in the space of 10 mins that I was there, around 3pm. So it seems there is still quite a few of them about!

admiralofthefleet · 14-10-2008 3:26am

lambay island is heaving at the moment

stretchaq · 14-10-2008 11:59am

anyone know if any are still being caught round wexford??

cdsa2008 · 01-01-2010 8:18pm

leonh74 wrote: »

will people leave comments when they start catching mackerel mainly around the south east region of the country other parts is well.i love goin out and spending a few hours out on the rocks enjoying the sport.all feedback appreciated

keep a eye on www.freewebs.com/cdsa2009 good fishing club

Sparky84 · 30-05-2010 6:34pm

They have arrived at Dalkey. Hopefully they move a bit further North in the next week or so. :cool:

jimi_t2 · 31-05-2010 10:07am

How much effort and money would I need to put in in terms of getting a personal rig together to smoke or preserve mackerel?

More to the point, how long would they last?

WalterMitty · 01-06-2010 12:16am

I was down on dollymount as tide arrived in last week and there were mackeral (i think) jumping out of the water very close to the wooden bridge and bull island.

jimi_t2 · 01-06-2010 7:39pm

WalterMitty wrote: »

I was down on dollymount as tide arrived in last week and there were mackeral (i think) jumping out of the water very close to the wooden bridge and bull island.

They're usually quite close to the surface, but jumping out? Maybe it was a shoal of sprat or mullet feeding close to the surface? If it was near a sewage pipe or outlet it was almost certainly mullet as mackerel can be picky enough about water quality.

Degsy · 02-06-2010 10:28am

WalterMitty wrote: »

I was down on dollymount as tide arrived in last week and there were mackeral (i think) jumping out of the water very close to the wooden bridge and bull island.

Pretty sure they werent mackerell..i'm from the area and i've never heard of a mackie being caught or even seen from the wooden bridge..most likely mullet.

tricky D · 02-06-2010 1:55pm

+1 on Mullet. Seen them there quite a few times.

St Padraig · 07-06-2010 10:41am

Can Mackerel be caught on a rainy day, or do they not feed in these conditions?

Today for example, early June, Co Clare, and off a dock or pier.

Water temp is around 12 to 13c

Ilyushin76 · 07-06-2010 2:01pm

Anybody around Clare care to have a look for me.Thanks:)

Compton · 07-06-2010 4:01pm

yes they can be caught whenever they're in front of you.

elius · 08-06-2010 2:46pm

In Achill the weekend. Got 75 on Friday between two of us Great fishing. Sat was heading for the same only we pulled the plug at 30 as we didn't fancy filleting 75 makeral again though i through back 30 odd myself. Sunday got 40 and yesturday got 40 odd.

Pic. Note i was not drinking during the fishing only after wards as i was not driving i decided to have a cold one.

Compton · 08-06-2010 2:54pm

Well done elius, good fishing. Nice to see some Mack about, plenty coming off the west coast.

elius · 08-06-2010 3:20pm

shblob wrote: »

Well done elius, good fishing. Nice to see some Mack about, plenty coming off the west coast.

Thanks found the best time was an hour after high tide...

big dan · 08-06-2010 7:31pm

elius wrote: »

Thanks found the best time was an hour after high tide...

Where abouts on the island were you fishing off?

Will be heading to Achill in a week or two in Dugort.

elius · 08-06-2010 8:13pm

Off the rocks at purteen harbour. Was having good success you can park up on the pier and walk over the hill to the rocks. best of luck

MotteDai · 11-06-2010 6:14pm

elius wrote: »

Off the rocks at purteen harbour. Was having good success you can park up on the pier and walk over the hill to the rocks. best of luck

Novice here, however can i ask what were you using? i was fishing 20 odd miles south of Achill today and not a one in sight.. then again as i said it could be just my technique.. I heard they're coming in and being caught, your pic proves that point..

Compton · 11-06-2010 8:49pm

ANY feathers. Try 5 or 6 on one line. Either a heavy perk, or 3oz lead at the end of the rig.

Compton · 11-06-2010 8:49pm

Oh, and let it sink, and try different depths too.

MotteDai · 12-06-2010 8:14am

Will try and get a few feathers this weekend, might retry then sunday

aoboa · 12-06-2010 10:26am

Anywhere near Dublin worth trying at the moment?

Edit: I'm a novice who hasn't fished since he was a kid

Dusty87 · 12-06-2010 6:19pm

Im in Swords all this week so il be trying a few places myself and the Granda used to fish. I do it every year. Kept it going after he died. Il let you know.

Wolfsberg · 12-06-2010 10:27pm

Dusty... delete some of your PMs. I can't send you one til you clear up some space

Auldloon · 12-06-2010 11:24pm

Aoboa send me a pm and I will tell you a spot I used catch loads a few years ago. Im sure its still good:)

mackerel fishing

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