Hi, could any seafishers out there offer a few tips please, over the next few weeks i will be around the Sand Point area of the Severn estauary (between Clevedon and Weston Super Mare) and in the spare time i get fancy a bit of seafishing just from the shore/rocks, i am a keen coarse angler but have never done any seafishing before, i would be delighted in just catching a few mackerel and anything else being a very welcome bonus, i have done a little googling as to methods/baits etc: and from what i've gathered mackerel are only just arriving on the UK shores and favoured methods are spinning with mepps/dexter wedges fairly close to the rocks, could any seafishers offer any advice please to help get a few mackerel for the pot, i say mackerel because they seem one of the more numerous fish and easier catched species and i love eating them, is it too early in the year yet to catch them from the shore / anyone know if mackerel can be catched from Sand Point or is the spot devoid of them hence not worth fishing there / what's the best time to fish regarding tides / is it worthwhile just fishing close in from the rocks as that's all i'll be able to do / any advice greatly appreciated.
Advice on mackerel fishing please
- Thread starter Joonsy
- Start date
Mackerel is just about the easiest fish to catch, a spinner will catch a single fish, a trace can catch several at a time.
I usually just use a cheapo set of mackerel feathers, if the fish are there you will catch them and often 3 or 4 at a time from the shore.
You don't need to over complicate your rig or bait, if your fishing from rocks you might loose some tackle so keep it cheap and simple.
Best eating fish you can catch IMO, fresh mackerel smoked on the rocks is the best meal you can have.
I usually just use a cheapo set of mackerel feathers, if the fish are there you will catch them and often 3 or 4 at a time from the shore.
You don't need to over complicate your rig or bait, if your fishing from rocks you might loose some tackle so keep it cheap and simple.
Best eating fish you can catch IMO, fresh mackerel smoked on the rocks is the best meal you can have.
I took andye out mackie fishing last year using basic gear. We fished exactly the same wee bay the only real difference was that my Mackie feathers had flashes of silver in them and andye's didn't. I caught all the fish. Now that surprised me as I used to think mackies grabbed anything-well obviously not in this case.
I would go for mackie feathers with some silver flash on them (only about £1.50 for a trace), and be prepared to wait a long time until you hit a shoal when you'll be pulling more out than you can carry!
Fish the deeper water, off peirs, rocks, small boat etc and you should get lucky.
I would go for mackie feathers with some silver flash on them (only about £1.50 for a trace), and be prepared to wait a long time until you hit a shoal when you'll be pulling more out than you can carry!
Fish the deeper water, off peirs, rocks, small boat etc and you should get lucky.
I can't help with the actual fishing but if you don't know the area be warned it has large and fast tides, plus, at least around Weston, large areas of dangerous sinking mud. So I'll keep my advice to checking tide times and not be tempted to go down and meet it if your not sure of the area.
Totally Agree with Glen, some dodgy areas around there.
One point worth mentioning the majority of the water in the seven estuary is....shall we say coloured..... I mean all year round muddy colour brown, feathers & coloured water don't normally mix.
If the waters clear, go for it, if not some nice fresh bait lobbed close in to the rocks for the summer Bass and Pollock will be the way to go, both fantastic eating fish but remember to gut your Pollock asap they go bad very quickly.
Hope that helps
Rob
If it's sport you're after then mackerel is a brilliant quarry, a seven or eight foot spiining rod and reel with 10lb line and a good handful of shiny silver spinners which have a good bit of weight to them and you'll have no end of fun once you hit a shoal.
Hi, thanks for your replies folks, good tip about the muddy water Rob J evs as i hadn't thought about that, thanks, mackerel and bass is a favourite of mine but i have only ever had shop bought so am looking forward to fresh caught now (with luck), never tried pollack but will be over the moon with any fish at all, thanks for tip of pollock going off, i'll be taking my pike rod setup and experiment with baits. Thanks folks.
When I was a student, a friend and I bought a small boat and used to fish for mackerel off Aberystwyth. It actually came as a kit - boat with holes in the bottom, non-running seagull-type engine and a trailer in bits. All delivered on a farmers truck for £50 quid.
Anyway the mackerel... we got hold of some sticky-back shiny silver stuff for crafts. A 3" x 1/4" strip over a hook, folded in half so that it stuck to itself gave a lure about 1.5" long.
Several of those on 6" lines off a simple rig with a weight at the bottom and you're away. They are just jigged up and down. If you hit a patch with the fish then you can be hauling in two or more at a time. I would not be surprised if they wouldn't go for similar home-made lures off the beach.
Cheers,
Steve
Anyway the mackerel... we got hold of some sticky-back shiny silver stuff for crafts. A 3" x 1/4" strip over a hook, folded in half so that it stuck to itself gave a lure about 1.5" long.
Several of those on 6" lines off a simple rig with a weight at the bottom and you're away. They are just jigged up and down. If you hit a patch with the fish then you can be hauling in two or more at a time. I would not be surprised if they wouldn't go for similar home-made lures off the beach.
Cheers,
Steve
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