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Post by fester on Jun 17, 2006 17:52:15 GMT 1
Had a couple of mackerel today on the front beach at LLadudno using a Toby 18g. Good fun on 6lb line!
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alanc
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 128
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Post by alanc on Jun 17, 2006 19:32:09 GMT 1
If only more of use would fish like that instead of knocking them out 6 at a time much more fun as well i,ll bet
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stitch
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 110
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Post by stitch on Jun 18, 2006 8:42:37 GMT 1
I quite agree, when i use to fish from the shore i always used a one hook rig, i thought it a bit more sporting and the wait more intense and the catch more deserved.
At work i was talking to a lad about mackerel and what a superb fight they give for a small fish, he told me about a trip were he and a friend caught king mackerel, what do you know about these fish.
John ;D ;D ;D
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alanc
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 128
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Post by alanc on Jun 18, 2006 17:49:58 GMT 1
somone posted recently that the welsh record was 5lbcan anyone through any light on this?
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Post by fester on Jun 18, 2006 19:29:24 GMT 1
Not sure about the Welsh record but pound for pound the humble mackerel is a fierce fighter! I took the lad down to the beach again today and he struggled to fight with them, and he's nearly 10! Good sport and good fun, everybody else was chucking 5oz of lead out as far as they could and getting nothing (as usual ;D) It just goes to show how local knowledge and a bit of common sense delivers the goods eh? By the way, a knob of butter, salt and pepper a squeeze of lemon in the frying pan.............
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JohnK
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 62
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Post by JohnK on Jun 18, 2006 19:37:31 GMT 1
They put up a cracking fight on fly gear, I'm always surprised when the half pound mackie pops out of the water when I thought I had a much bigger fish on, they just don't stop swimming!
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kastonfly
Experienced Full Member
Last Bass of 2005
Posts: 87
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Post by kastonfly on Jun 18, 2006 21:59:19 GMT 1
In 1925, the schooner Henrietta brought in one weighing 7½ pounds. . Now that would be fun on any gear ;D ;D ;D
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Post by labraxpg on Jun 18, 2006 22:15:25 GMT 1
Mackerel do give a really good fight on light gear. One thing i have found with anglers is that they have no respect for Mackerel, you see it every year. I would just like to say to anglers who fish for Mackerel, you dont have to kill every Mackerel you catch. Just take one or two, then put the rest back. Thats one thing i hate is anglers who have no respect for fish like the Mackerel. Take what you need then put the rest back.
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JohnK
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 62
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Post by JohnK on Jun 19, 2006 20:28:00 GMT 1
I've seen debates on other forums about releasing Mackerel and whether or not handling them is safe. Some people claim that if you do handle them, even if only for a second, then the oils from your skin break down their slime and they nearly always die, thus they should always be unhooked by just shaking them off the hook. Even if this is not true then it still seems like a good idea to me, handling any fish can only be bad for them.
A good argument here for fishing barbless at all times if you intend to release fish.
John
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Post by cliffnorry on Jun 20, 2006 23:41:21 GMT 1
tell me are these king mackerel you speak of, what we used to call horse mackerel,
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JohnK
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 62
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Post by JohnK on Jun 21, 2006 18:02:18 GMT 1
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stitch
Experienced Full Member
Posts: 110
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Post by stitch on Jun 22, 2006 21:05:39 GMT 1
Sometime ago one of the members of the forum told me about not handling mackerel as the slime or oils from its skin once removed causes the fish to absorb sea water and later die. This was a shock to me so from now on i avoid handling them unless i intend to eat them or use them as bait, now i just shake,em loose.
John ;D ;D ;D
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Post by fester on Jun 22, 2006 21:19:38 GMT 1
Nice one stitch,
I fish for mackerel for bait, and for the table, and never just for fun!
This means that I have never released a mackerel back to the sea. Take only what you need is what I say, people that take home 50-60 mackerel home are irresponsible and it's just not necessary.
That's my view anyway.
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Post by shootist on Jun 22, 2006 21:23:04 GMT 1
ive seen them take bag fulls on hot days. whats the betting they go straight in the bin when they get home cos theyre smelly and soft cos the tissues are breaking down.
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Post by fester on Jun 22, 2006 21:46:28 GMT 1
Shootist, mate you are probably right!
I think it gets boring after catching 20 or so. I never keep more than that, so I stop fishing for them!
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Post by taffthebass on Jun 23, 2006 9:42:26 GMT 1
Theres nothing quite like cooking a mackeral in the camper van 10 mins after catching it. I have thought of trying to rig up a freezer in the van to preserve them but some people tell me that they are not the same once they have been frozen. I'll only use feathers if I want some quickly for bait, light spinning is much more fun. As for handling fish, I remember a fishing competition for young anglers at Bridport, Dorset. They were catching many mackeral & garfish then handling & weighing them before returning them. Later I saw many dead garfish floating around & washed up on the beach. I think the adult organizers of this competition were giving the kids the wrong message here.
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Post by fester on Jun 23, 2006 23:02:54 GMT 1
Here is a Horse Mackerell I caught in Portugal last month This is a streamlined, blue-green and silver fish reaching 20 in. in length, with large eyes and a prominent row of enlarged scales along the side of the body. Near the tail each scale in this row has a raised, pointed ridge, or scute. The horse mackerel is not a true mackerel, but belongs to the trevally family.
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