what is the best bait to use for catching mackrel

[dav]

I find the best BAIT for mackrel is actually mackrel, a thin sliver of the belly tied to a three foot ISH trace with a cork or similar tied 2 " above hooked mackrel belly ,n cast out,this works wondrs for me

 

and forgot to say keep hold of rod , as they hit and run with your bait ,FAST even with heavyish gear ...

[Glasgowdan]

these are the best mackerel catchers in the world, and I would be willing to test the theory for anyone who doubts it Edited September 3, 2006 by Glasgowdan

[Davy Holt]

these are the best mackerel catchers in the world, and I would be willing to test the theory for anyone who doubts it

 

A set of "daylights" or my fave Fladden trace will out fish you no problem.. been there done it read the book

[dav]

Didnt the lad ask what was the best bait and not what is the best lure , or did i miss somthing ...

[101_North]

I find the best BAIT for mackrel is actually mackrel, a thin sliver of the belly tied to a three foot ISH trace with a cork or similar tied 2 " above hooked mackrel belly ,n cast out,this works wondrs for me

 

Any chance you could describe this in a bit more detail mate as it sounds like just what I'm looking for! Never had much sucesss ledgering for mackerel but this sounds ideal.

 

I'm just trying to picture this rig in my head

[chesters1]

sprat

[skippytheroo]

Any chance you could describe this in a bit more detail mate as it sounds like just what I'm looking for! Never had much sucesss ledgering for mackerel but this sounds ideal.

 

I'm just trying to picture this rig in my head

 

I might be wrong but I think its a float rig. You need to experiment with depth till you find where the mackerel are feeding.....thats assuming you are fishing off a pier

[glennk]

Skips you can ledger too. A lot of the lads at south gare use the ledger method with a cork to float the trace off the bottom. Dav will no doubt be familiar with it

[101_North]

Skips you can ledger too. A lot of the lads at south gare use the ledger method with a cork to float the trace off the bottom. Dav will no doubt be familiar with it

 

So at a guess would I have the hook length hanging about 3 ft below the lead with the cork on the hook length.

 

Or

 

Could I set it up with a sliding lead and a stop knot so that the hook length is shorter and easier to cast?

 

Or

 

Am I way of course here?

[dav]

I,l explain the best i can matey , yeah all i do is tie a blood loop on main line so hook snood is stanfding off main line maybe 6 ish inches from the weight and tie on a 2 to 3 foot hook length then i either thread line through a wine bottle cork and back through again to stop it from sliding up hook length or trap the wine cork with two very small beads maybe 3 " above hook and bait hook with mackrel belly, The point of the rig is to enable the mackrel belly to lift off the bottom of the sea bed so mackrel can see the shiny belly fluttering in the current , which they seem to adore , The type and design of rig doesn`t really come into it , so i would say you could tie this to any type of rig i,e, sliding rig ,pulley rig or watever tickles ure fancy ,the important thing is the cork and also you find out what ure fishing over sand ,rocks etc so you can adjust the length of the hook link to suit ,so for instance if ure over big rocks tie rig hook length so that the bait clear the rocks so its well off the bottom if you know what i mean , the three foot rigs i fish are when i,m over clean sand and when over rocks i fish upto 6 foot lenghts , although ive caught on 6 foot lengths when over clean sand , i think the best way to do it is to experiment with the lengths to find the depth the fish are at , and once you have sussed the rig out you can also experiment with extra beads ,glitter ,coloured corks and watever floats yre boat , another thing just to remember is to alter the depth and have a minimum of 2 feet so bait can flutter in the current , and dont leave ure rod as they have a tendency to run once hooked , (maybe its the size of the north east makky,that make me say that )another little trick ive found is to fit a smallish flying trebble behind main hook to get them fish that hit the tail end of the bait , thats if ure sick of missed bites , tried to explain best i can ,hope this helps mate Dave s