Mega Mackerel Merge 2016 - They're breaking! Mod Note #1

gumbo1

cheddie wrote: »

8:30 am to 4:30pm today....8 hours between dalkey and dun laoghaire ..4 lads on the boat and between 65-70 makerel caught in total. Very hit and miss no sign of any big shoals all fish were 1 or 2 at a time no full hook ups... Maybe still a bit early??

That's a bit of a let down. I was thinking of heading out to Dun Laoighaire on Wednesday to see if I could catch a few for baits!

Bikerguy

Well heading first time to Clogherhead... Any tips lads? I am very new to mackerel fishing. Cheers

robbie67

8:30 am to 4:30pm today....8 hours between dalkey and dun laoghaire ..4 lads on the boat and between 65-70 makerel caught in total. Very hit and miss no sign of any big shoals all fish were 1 or 2 at a time no full hook ups... Maybe still a bit early??

same as us we were out Sat 7 of us catching 1 or 2 at a time no big catch strange thing only caught mackeral nothing else went out of Malahide

pullandbang

Two of us spent a few hours yesterday out in kayaks off Clogherhead and we only managed about 18 between us. We paddled about 3km out to 60ft of water but only hit the odd shoal. Plenty of bait fish showing up on the fish finder but nothing chasing them. I even caught an Octopus :eek: Spoke to two other lads on the slipway who had been out in an inflatable dinghy and they only got 4 macks.

Balfey1972

We were out on Saturday morning at Lambay and landed just shy of a hundred with 2 rods from 10am to 1pm. Some really large ones, some of the biggest we caught in the last few years. We didn't catch any after that as we headed around the island.

Again they were mainly odd shoals and just off the bottom about 60 feet depth of water. The Saturday before was the first time we had got mackerel this season so hopefully the weather and mackerel hold for the next few months. We were still getting them into October last year.

hiujn

Bikerguy wrote: »

Well heading first time to Clogherhead... Any tips lads? I am very new to mackerel fishing. Cheers

A waste of time imo if you are shore fishing better off heading up to greenore.

Bikerguy

hiujn wrote: »

A waste of time imo if you are shore fishing better off heading up to greenore.

Thanks..will check online some info... As i am fishing fresh water only until now..

Thank you for the tip.

longboarder

Bikerguy wrote: »

As i am fishing fresh water only until now..

Thank you for the tip.

Bikerguy,
Can't give you any advice as to where up there but the advice I would give is to forget about feathers and use your freshwater gear. A light ledger rod or a float rod with a stick float and size 4 hook baited with a thin strip of mackerel or a strip of squid.

Mackerel are great sport caught this way.

bpmurray

Apparently there have been good catches of mackerel in Clogherhead the past few days. I was off Dunany on Sunday and there were plenty of big mackerel.

hiujn

bpmurray wrote: »

Apparently there have been good catches of mackerel in Clogherhead the past few days. I was off Dunany on Sunday and there were plenty of big mackerel.

Were those reports coming from shore anglers?

what is dunany fishing like atm?

what were ya targeting?

k123456

Plenty off mouth of Carlingford loch ( in a boat)

Question re cleaning,
do they need to be gutted, on day of catch, or can this be done next day
Stored in fridge of course overnight

hiujn

k123456 wrote: »

Plenty off mouth of Carlingford loch ( in a boat)

Question re cleaning,
do they need to be gutted, on day of catch, or can this be done next day
Stored in fridge of course overnight

Gut them straight away they only keep for about 48 hours

bpmurray

hiujn wrote: »

Were those reports coming from shore anglers?

what is dunany fishing like atm?

what were ya targeting?

Reports from the one guy who was there while I was fishing, and one of the crab/lobster guys working there.

On the boat we drifted almost all the way back to Carlingford and hit into mackerel every few minutes - presumably the shoal passed us every now & then. From the fishfinder they were fairly high up in the water. We were fishing for anything - caught pollack, haddock, cod, pouting, whiting, gurnard, dab, scorpion, but all very small although loads of them: I caught around 60 plus another 30-ish mackerel so a pretty active day.

bpmurray

hiujn wrote: »

Gut them straight away they only keep for about 48 hours

They go off very fast - I love them but won't eat them if they're more than about 6 hours old.

vicwatson

They freeze perfectly

pullandbang

k123456 wrote: »

Question re cleaning,
do they need to be gutted, on day of catch, or can this be done next day
Stored in fridge of course overnight

I fillet them on the slipway as soon as I land and throw the carcass to the gulls/seals/crabs. Nothing worse than having rotting mackerel waste in your bin for two weeks.....

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

pullandbang wrote: »

I fillet them on the slipway as soon as I land and throw the carcass to the gulls/seals/crabs. Nothing worse than having rotting mackerel waste in your bin for two weeks.....

Thank, so it's you who encourages the seals to hang about waiting to freeload on my catch.

SeaFields

vicwatson wrote: »

They freeze perfectly

Isn't there something about freezing them long term for eating though that the oil turns in them or something?

bpmurray

vicwatson wrote: »

They freeze perfectly

If you like older mackerel, then they're fine. I only like them fresh, so I think frozen are revolting. They don't work great as bait either - even blast-frozen are a last ditch effort.

k123456

http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5938e/x5938e01.htm

bpmurray

k123456 wrote: »

http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5938e/x5938e01.htm

Good article. One thing they don't mention is that the Japanese are wary of eating raw mackerel (as in sashimi) because of the risk of worms (Anisakis simplex). That's why they always soak Saba in vinegar.

squidly

any macks being caught in youghal or cobh the last couple of days?

hoping to get out tomorrow morning, it's looking fairly windy though.

rubbledoubledo

squidly wrote: »

any macks being caught in youghal or cobh the last couple of days?

hoping to get out tomorrow morning, it's looking fairly windy though.

Fishing in Cobh last night
Around 6 or 7 there. 6.30 to 8.30 pm
Conditions not too nice, misty and windy.

Only got 2 myself, another guy caught around 8. That was it.
My own 2 on the small side

shortcircuitie

My thoughts on preparing and storing mackerel.

I have found what's more important than gutting them right away is getting them cold as soon as possible. In the last year or two, I have started to bring a cooler box with me when I'm fairly sure of getting a good few mackerel (i.e on a boat)

I have found that if you don't get mackerel cooled right down within an hour or two of catching, they will only last a day.
On the flipside, on my last trip I had them in iced water very soon after catching. They were absolutely perfect three days later. Gutting is always a big help too. but if you get but don't get them cold, it doesn't make much odds

I find that for eating, they do not defrost well- they are a bit mushy when defrosted.

If you're taking them for bait and know you won't be eating them, don't gut them- makes for better bait

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

shortcircuitie wrote: »

My thoughts on preparing and storing mackerel.

I have found what's more important than gutting them right away is getting them cold as soon as possible. In the last year or two, I have started to bring a cooler box with me when I'm fairly sure of getting a good few mackerel (i.e on a boat)

I have found that if you don't get mackerel cooled right down within an hour or two of catching, they will only last a day.
On the flipside, on my last trip I had them in iced water very soon after catching. They were absolutely perfect three days later. Gutting is always a big help too. but if you get but don't get them cold, it doesn't make much odds

I find that for eating, they do not defrost well- they are a bit mushy when defrosted.

If you're taking them for bait and know you won't be eating them, don't gut them- makes for better bait

+1 on not gutting them if you are keeping them for bait.

.red.

The theory is they use a lot of energy during the fight to get off the hook and heat up internally like we would if we were running. Getting them onto ice early is the best way to keep them good for an extra day or 2.
Seen an article a few years ago by Chris Clark (I think). He let them cool down then filleted them, placed them on a rock and sprinkled with a bit of salt to slightly dry them and then into a bag in a cool box before freezing at home. Apparently it makes a huge difference to them when defrosted. Never tried it myself tho.

DE DEISE

Anything off the rocks in the Waterford Area

lumberjacket

Fished near ringaskiddy last night between 8-9.30. Couple of mackerel in between far too many little pollock

squidly

Saw a lad with 6-7 mackerel down in cobh today in front of the train station.
That was at high tide with choppy enough water.

lumberjacket

i've never fished cobh? what's it like?

not in terms of fish production but the location itself - i'd imagine it'd generally be fairly busy and get it's share of "the lads" swinging hooks around the place?