what's the lightest tackle people have used for mack?

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#1 Post by **spindlefist** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:05 pm

Just been wondering, as in many reports people state that they go out, load up on mack, THEN start fishing. But mack have tremendous speed and power, albeit in minature form. I'm just wondering has anyone ever tried sometin like 1lb fresh water line or somethin, to actually have to let the fish run here and there,take line so as not to snap, etc....

Or am I imparting powers in the mackeral that just aren;t there?

Daire

#2 Post by MC » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:22 pm

i want to catch one on fly gear, should be a good fight

saltydog · #3 Post by **saltydog** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:28 pm

Howdy Dáire, they're good fun i light gear alright i've had them on 4lb line size 6 on a float set up good fun but like Martin i'd like one on the Fly too

#4 Post by **seanie35** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:30 pm

lightest I've gone is 8lb just in case there's a bass or seatrout about which is often the case, imho there probably pound for pound the best scrapper out there, wish they grew to 20lb :roll:

. Pulled a 3lb seatrout out of the middle of a breaking shoal of macks on a mepp before so u never no what's amongst them

#5 Post by **spindlefist** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:39 pm

cool... giving me ideas... hmmm..
think i'm going to be daring (foolish) and try for them on 4lb line next week.....haha.....I just love how they rocket about when hooked...

#6 Post by **spindlefist** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:55 pm

what kinda flies ya reckon ya 'd use?

saltydog · #7 Post by **saltydog** » Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:57 pm

Very basic the old boys used to use goats hair and sheeps wool whipped onto hooks they work for herring too...

#8 Post by **spindlefist** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 12:45 am

Cool, may try somthin similar, cheers conor

#9 Post by **eric** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:07 am

a mackerel will smash line under 4lb without a problem, drag or no drag, they are a lot of fun on light gear. ive fallen back in love with float fishing for, currentley using a light spinning rod rated 12-30gr, 8lb line, 12 gram pike waggler float, 8lb flouro leader and a size 6 kamasan b940. it is great craic it must be said, there is a lot to be said for chilling out on a summers afternoon float fishin for them with a light rod

#10 Post by **craigo** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 3:40 am

A mate of mine caught1 with 1 feather on a fly rod once , he was telling me the story with MY fly rod in he's hands and said " the rod just bent into a hoop " demonstrating on my rod . . . then Snap :shock:

! My rod Shattered . He still owes me a new rod ! :roll:

But from what I gathered it was a great bit of sport on a light rod

#11 Post by **doggie3131** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 6:27 am

i have caught them with a fly rod,they give a great fight,i used a tube fly at the time!think i will try the float system that eric described,sounds fun

#12 Post by **youngrod** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 8:12 am

spindlefist wrote:what kinda flies ya reckon ya 'd use?

bit of tin foil whipped on to a size 4 hook

#13 Post by **hugo** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:36 am

15 or 20lb braid would be as light as the thin mono, and give that safety margin. Down in Clare years ago I fished single feathers or float with an 11ft trout spinning rod for mackeral and pollock and the locals thought I was mad. BTW, anybody tried dapping for pollock with a big cuddy fly (imitation moth)? A 3-4lb pollock exploding out of the water and taking it on the way down really wakes you up :shock:

#14 Post by **Dave** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:48 am

Mackerel are great fun on light gear alright, I reckon pound for pound they are one of the fastest and hardest fighting fish in our waters but if you are fishing for them with the equivalent of broomstick handles you'll never appreciate that. :wink:

Now imagine if they grew a little bigger, I'm thinking +5lb, now that would be fun.

I rarely bother with feathers myself because I think that its much more fun catching mackerel one at a time on appropriate gear, I normally use spinning gear and small metal lures or plugs and sometime with a single feather fished as a teaser above the lure. Ok you may not catch as many as you might hauling a string of feathers but its much more fun.

As for line, I normally use fairly stout line in the form of 20-30lb braid with a 10-15lb fluro leader for the simple reason that I don't want keep losing lures to light snags but more importantly I don't want to leave a hook in a fish. :wink:

MC wrote:i want to catch one on fly gear, should be a good fight

Me too, I've been threatening to bring out 5/6wt trout setup to have a go for the mackerel but the mackerel fishing seems to be a bit sporadic this year so I haven't bothered yet.

Hugo wrote:BTW, anybody tried dapping for pollock with a big cuddy fly (imitation moth)? A 3-4lb pollock crashing out of the water and taking it on the way down really wakes you up

Now thats a new onne on me but it sounds like fun.

#15 Post by **fishermannum1** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 10:59 am

after i get enough for bait using the big rod and trace, i then use a eight foot trout rod 8lb line very small bullet lead and one rainbow trout fly on a dropper, set the drag and the fun begins

they can give a hell of a scrap on light gear. six at a time on a trace is just a weight to pull in, but one at a time on light gear is great crack...

#16 Post by **twinkle** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 11:18 am

had my 5yr old out on thursday with a small spinning rod put one small feather on he caught the first four macks and yes they do give a good account of them selves itryed tohelp him on the first one little brat wouldent let me near the rod
he was disappointed it was only a mackeral he took a 5 lb bass last year in wexford[much to my embarrassment]
on a tiny supermarket rod and reel and me with hundreds of euros worth of gear beside him but the lads fishing the harbour in howth are having great sport with one feather on a float seen them there thursday evening

#17 Post by **hugo** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 1:01 pm

Hugo wrote:
BTW, anybody tried dapping for pollock with a big cuddy fly (imitation moth)? A 3-4lb pollock crashing out of the water and taking it on the way down really wakes you up
Dave wrote:
Now thats a new onne on me but it sounds like fun.

In fact its an old method I picked up in the 1960s, the grandfather of saltwater fly fishing... you bind a small white feather or two onto a hook shank with some white wool and a bit of shiny lurex thread. It can be fairly crude. On a dull calm sultry evening (remember them?) when there are plenty insects about, flap it about on the surface of your favourite pollock spot. When it works, the takes are electrifying on light gear

#18 Post by **viking** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:36 am

id and old telescopic shakespere spining rod a few years pack out on the west pier i decided to try it ! with a little spining reel i had loaded with 8 ld line and cast it out with a small toby i think and bang the rod nearly doubled over , best fight ive ever had .

#19 Post by **nullpointer** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 2:18 pm

Years ago up at Fanore in Clare we'd been catching mackerel all evening and when the tide went out I could see one of the lures I'd lost earlier on a rock close in. Went down to get it out, wrapped a couple of feet of line around my hand a few times and went to swing the sure up off the rock...into the water it fell and bang, huge bloody scad on the line (they were running with the mackerel), took off for the bottom.
I was using light (6-8 k) line so you can imagine how it bit into my hand until I got the fish out :oops:

That day caught most of mine using a 10' light float rod, a tiny balsawood float, 6k line and a size 10 freshwater hook, a rig I would normally only ever use for rudd fishing - often the mackerel hit the hook with no bait on it!

#20 Post by **jack01986** » Mon Aug 17, 2009 9:03 pm

Had some mackeral on the fly they are seriously good fun on a light rod will have it bent double, had one on a 4weight trout rod that was tailwalking and taking line was a great scrap. Most flies will catch them anything flashy that looks like a sprat or sandeel. Like these

Sea Angling Ireland

what's the lightest tackle people have used for mack?

what's the lightest tackle people have used for mack?

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