Mackerel 2021

browner85 · 25-07-2021 11:35pm

Is there a safe spot in Malahide that I could bring my 6 year old?

dublinbando · 27-07-2021 1:02pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117661103#Comment_117661103

Not really at this time of year, especially with the good weather, it is a very popular swimming spot and gets very crowded. You would be better off fishing the pier in Howth!

ronnie3585 · 02-08-2021 11:49pm

2 hours before high tide in Salthill today. Loads of sand eels but no macks:(

Glencarraig · 03-08-2021 5:06pm

Is fishing near the bandstand on the East pier in Dun Laoghaire any good or just a pain in the hole given the number of boat moorings around there.

dublinbando · 03-08-2021 10:06pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117700594#Comment_117700594

I looked it up on the sea-angling-ireland.org shore mark guide and this is what it says for Dun Laoghaire:

2 - Dun Laoghaire, East Pier

The only pier worth fishing is the West Pier, the less used walking route for thousands of residents and their children who usually select the longer East Pier Species & Techniques: The West Pier offers Conger, Dabs, Bass and Plaice, with Codling and Whiting in the autumn from the point itself, usually on mixed and sandy patches. Spinning and feathers to the seaward side off the East Pier gives up Pollack and Mackerel in season, but over very foul ground. Wrasse on the float are a possibility.

Here is the link to the full guide: https://www.sea-angling-ireland.org/shore%20-%20dublin.htm

dublinbando · 03-08-2021 10:08pm

We were getting loads from the boat yesterday out from Skerries. Should be showing up from the shore on the east coast any day now..

a148pro · 10-08-2021 4:49pm

In on east coast

dublinbando · 13-08-2021 3:22pm

Anyone getting any lately?

Planet X · 13-08-2021 11:34pm

What's holding me back atm........is the weather / wind. Am a regular on back of West pier Dun Laoighre. About 8 / 10 blanks in the last about 2 months.

dublinbando · 16-08-2021 8:49pm

Spent a few hours in Howth this morning over high tide feather but no joy on the mackerel front, I did manage to get a bass on a lure though

ronnie3585 · 17-08-2021 6:33pm

Have been on the rocks in Salthill the past few days just before high tide, not a smell of a mackerel. Loads of sand eels about, some sprat but no macks.

kirk. · 18-08-2021 12:21am

Wouldn't be unusual to catch like a hundred off the rocks in Clare back in the day

Are those days gone now with th trawlers

Zzippy · 18-08-2021 9:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117768319#Comment_117768319

Fished HT at the docks the last 2 days, not a sniff, but one lad said he had 10 the previous evening 2 hours before high.

pullandbang · 18-08-2021 2:52pm

You have to wonder sometimes about "fisherman's tales".

Couple of weeks back in Donegal I had a chap tell me he'd caught thirty macks off the rocks that morning and he'd met another two lads who had "a hundred" the day before.

Myself and another chap spent the next two days fishing the same spots from our kayaks and between us we couldn't get a dozen. There wasn't even any shoals showing up on the fishfinders.

dublinbando · 18-08-2021 11:19pm

I had a nosey down at Balscadden rocks today about 2 hours before high tide, place was jammers (as per usual) so I didn't stay to fish but for the few minutes I was watching I saw a few mackerel being caught! I ended up fishing the Howth east pier but no mackerel for me unfortunately..

kirk. · 19-08-2021 12:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772000#Comment_117772000

Used to sell on them on the street when I was younger you'd catch so many

Zzippy · 19-08-2021 11:47am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772000#Comment_117772000

I hear ya, sometimes it's just to put you on the wrong scent too. Think this lad was for real, older man who was genuinely delighted with his catch. The shoals do move around a lot so maybe he just got lucky.

pullandbang · 19-08-2021 10:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117772000#Comment_117772000

Few of us actually heading back up to the same spot tomorrow evening to fish all day Saturday and Sunday. Will be interesting to see the difference a few weeks can make to an area. Catch report with pics on Monday 😁

dublinbando · 24-08-2021 4:17pm

None for me in Dublin Bay today 3 hours over high tide..

Planet X · 24-08-2021 11:01pm

One on Sunday.......6 hours spinning a Denver spratt. Dunlaoighre West pier, off the back of it. I was going "purist"....didn't work!

Guy 60-100yds up from me had about 11 on feathers. Offered me a few, I declined politely. Learned a lesson I suppose..............has to be feathers then.

joe swanson · 27-08-2021 11:41am

newbie Question. I was given a spinning rod which was used for mackerel which I think is quite a poor one. I’m a relative newbie and will be investing in some decent equipment soon.

however I’m not getting much distance on the cast so I put on a heavier spinner. I did catch a couple but nothing major. It got snagged and I lost it. I would like to use a smaller lure/spinner but can I put On a weight as well to get a little distance or would it mess up the activity of the lure?

LessOutragePlz · 28-08-2021 11:18am

Does anyone know if any Macs are being caught in Cork at the moment? Thinking of fishing high tide tomorrow morning at Monkstown or Ballycotton but if anyone could recommend any better spots I'd be grateful. Thanks

dublinbando · 28-08-2021 9:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117810102#Comment_117810102

If you are using a regular spinning rod I would recommend spinners/lures that weigh around 28-32g and make sure you are using the right type of line. You can use mono-filament and I'd recommend using 15lb breaking strain or higher for mackerel, but a better option would be to use braid of 20-30lb breaking strain, it has a much thinner diameter and casts a lot farther. If you use braid either look up how to put it on the reel properly or get the shop to do it for you, as if you do it wrong you will get wind knots and tangles. The best spinner I can recommend is the 32g kilty catcher in the colours green, red or silver. This will catch you everything from pollock to mackerel and especially sea bass. Hope this helps!

dublinbando · 28-08-2021 9:27pm

Spent 4 hours fishing Dún Laoghaire West Pier yesterday over high tide, I got 2 mackerel and there were a few others catching some too, not in massive numbers though

RebelRebel2 · 28-08-2021 11:27pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117814299#Comment_117814299

Was in Monkstown this morning...fished 2 hrs after high tide...not a sniff of a fish unfortunately

UnleashTheBeast · 28-08-2021 11:35pm

I went out to Salthill in Galway on Wednesday evening - The conditions were ideal, everything pointed to Mackerel being in.

Late August, consistent run of sunny weather, high tide. Not a fish in sight. No sprats in the water either. A few people were fishing but nobody was catching. Crazy.

LessOutragePlz · 29-08-2021 8:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117817372#Comment_117817372

Yeah same as myself 2 weeks ago. They've gotta arrive at some point right!

joe swanson · 01-09-2021 1:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117816950#Comment_117816950

Thanks for the advise. Took your advise and purchased some kiltys. Went out this morning for two hours at LT unfortunately. Didn’t put the braid on yet but was getting a half decent cast. Absolutely no fish ☹️ . Where I fish would be a well known spot for mackerel etc but nobody seems to be catching much at all . For a relatively inexperienced fisherman, I’m not sure whether it’s just unlucky or if it’s something I’m doing or not doing. Quite frustrating. Gonna try again tho! Hard to get time to get out at high tide tho

Zzippy · 01-09-2021 4:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117832667#Comment_117832667

Two hours either side of high tide is probably best, be very rare mackerel would be inshore at low tide.

fourmations · 01-09-2021 5:06pm

hi

going to try DL after work, any recent reports? ive only made it down for an hour or two a few times in the evening in the last couple of weeks but ive not had a touch (low tide)

East or west? into the harbour or seaward side (east is handier with the lights so you can fish til dark) but ill go wherever is better

Does is go actually pitch black on the west, ill only get a couple of hours in before dark

many thanks

Mackerel 2021

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