New to season..mackerel rig?

[mkatona]

Hey all.. Former Yankee here.. Always fished Lake Erie and trying to adjust.. The master thread is AWESOME.. BUT.. I hear it's mackerel bite time.. So what rig do I use? A floater? What's that?

Thanks!

[grouperscooper]

Welcome to the south mkatona...

2 easy options for you to get started at puttin some macks in your cooler.

1) 1-2 to a 1 ounce eggsinker,slide your main line through it and tie on a swivel.Use around 4-6 feet of say #30 test mono or florocarbon leader.Floro is better.To the other end of your leader tie on a clark spoon.They sell the clark spoons at the pier but they are a bit pricey compared to other places.To fish this rig just cast as far as you can and let it sink.....then reel.....FAST!As you notice your rig gettin closer to the surface just flip your bail and let it sink again and start over with the wild man reeling.You won't reel too fast,the macks are fast and don't mind chasing down food.

2) your float rig is fairly simple also.A float,swivel,leader and hook.Use a LONG SHANK hook to avoid so many cut offs.You can use shrimp,strips of what ever bait is at the pier or smaller live baits.

Good Luck Yank

[mkatona]

Thanks!! What size hooks?

[arrantzale]

i use 2/0 circle. his methods are good and you will catch macks if you use those, i also use a gotcha plug. cast it out and reel fast and twitch it, keep your rod tip pointing down. macks will hit pretty much anything when they are feeding especially shinny things

[filletnrelease]

Gotcha Plugs, Clark spoons 0 and 00, crappie jigs, speck jigs and live bait, cut bait or shrimp. Use a heavy leader to avoid loosing expensive plugs and check for frays after every fish and re-tie if is cut or frayed. Like GS said long shank hooks will help, I use extra long 3/0 "J" type hooks if using bait. Three weeks ago I lost every Gotcha plug I had and a dozen jigs due to the fact I was using 40lb leader. I bought 60lb and they still beat it up, but my plug loss has been cut way back as long as I keep an eye on the leader. It didn't seem to affect the bite at all as one might expect as you up size your leader. I caught 30 to 40 Macks that day. I start with 5' to 6' of leader that way as you trim off and re-tie you can keep going until it gets too short. Spoons are fished with 7' to 8' of leader tied to a 2oz. casting weight and then to your line. Cast underhanded to avoid hooking yourself in the back of the head. Crank these in fast as with the Gotcha. Good luck, hope this helps.

[Deleted]

I'm a fan of using live bait, in this case I catch greenbacks. You can either catch them with a castnet or by jigging a sabiki rig (can get them at any fishing shop and even walmart). Make sure to keep your bair alive by using an aerator in your bait bucket and changing water frequently - i've found they prefer the bait to be alive. I have braided line on my reel and I tie that to a barrel swivel. On the other end of the swivel I tie 30 lb fluorocarbon leader and a 1/0 long shank hook. Then just clip on 2 small splitshots to get the bait underneath the water. Easy.

[montylfl]

McDonald's has all the tackle you need ( taking from a website


If you are looking to catch your limit of Spanish or Cero mackerel, McDonald's restaurants is the place to be but it's not for the burgers! I've got a Mac attack on my mind and I need some straws. Their shakes may be the best in town but it's the straws that are totally awesome. The next time you're in there, pick up a couple of extra ones because you're going to need them to satisfy your Big Mac attack.

Armed with a handful of straws, a packet of #1 long shank Eagle Claw Hooks, 25 # test mono fishing line, a couple of 1 ounce egg weights, and barrel swivels; we are ready to make the ultimate lure of choice and my number one favorite: The Straw! Yep, you heard right and you will catch more fish with a straw, than anything in your tackle box, ever! It is easier on the pocket book too; would you rather lose that $5.95 Got-Cha or that 10 cent hook on the free straw? You add it up? Cutting a piece of leader at 18 inches in length of the 25 # test line, tie it a # 1 long shank hook. Measure the straw and cut it at the length of the shank of the hook. Feed the leader line into the straw and pull the straw down over the shank of the hook. Tie the open end of this leader to the barrel swivel. Your lure is made! Make up a couple of more because you will need them before the day is out. Think of the color assortments? I prefer white with a green stripe, much like the natural green backs that frequent our waters off Venice, Florida. Another color that seems to be a killer is red on white! Taking the 1 ounce egg sinker and running your line through it and attach the line to a snap swivel. Now you can attach the barrel with your straw lure to the snap and you are ready to fish. Make sure that the barrel and snap swivel are black in color and not silver, gold, bronze or anything else or the Mac Attack will happen on your swivel and not on the straw rig.
Spanish mackerel are extremely speedy fish with excellent vision, and that steers you in the direction of reels with a high rate of retrieve, in excess of 6-to-1, in order to get your lure moving fast enough to draw a strike. Any reel will do but the ones with a high gear ratio are easier for manipulating your lure, any lure. As far as rods are concerned, surf-spinning or bait casting rods with a lively tip are a plus in my book. Beyond getting the right equipment, "you've got to be able to cast a country mile and reel as fast as you can." That's about all the technique that's involved. Using the straws as a jerk bait or quick retrieve, bounce off the bottom; even trolling in tandem on an umbrella rig is great for catching fish; using more than one straw at a time will result in two or more fish on the same line! One straw=1 fish, two=2 fish, ect., ect., ect. I tried a tandem rig once while fishing the jetties with four straws at once; never again, I had four bruisers on at the same time attached and pulling in four different directions on 12 pound test line. Guess how long that lasted? Concentrate on fishing the first few hours of the morning and last few hours of the evening for Spanish or Cero mackerel. Mackerel seem to prefer low light conditions when feeding. Fishing with straws is really fun, especially when someone looks at you and says "What you fishing for?" to which your reply "Macks", Are they biting? "Sure are", you reply. What you using? And you get to see that funny look on their faces as you say: "Just a pair of straws!" FACT* Straws come in all sizes and colors. The assortment of lures you can make is endless. When fishing for Germen Browns or Rainbows in the Rockies', I use to cut cocktail straws (the small diameter red ones) in lengths of the shank of a salmon egg hook. Making the straw rig as stated above but using a split shot in place of the egg sinker. Also, the straw rig was made on the line attached to the reel, with no leader needed! The straw rig, on an egg hook resembled a midge hatch and was a killer lure. Another use is with colored neon glow in the dark party specialty straws, cut into various length and placed in random, on light leaders with only one of the straws containing a hook attached to a pop up ( the hook less straws rest on the split shot and do not have a hook for they are a teaser and are there only as an attractant). Split shots placed above all straws except the one with the hook and just see how many perch you can pull through the ice?


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