Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

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Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby GKC0806 » Sun May 17, 2020 1:04 pm

Bit of a general question, but anyone willing to hazard a best guestimate of the most usual average depth that shoaling Mackerel are swimming at and get caught?
I know that at times they can be shoaling really deep (>20m) or catching sprats on the surface, but on average, how deep would you guess they are typically just shoaling around at.
Maybe easiest for the boating/kayak guys to venture a view, since they may usually be "on-top" of a shoal so would best know how deep to drop a set of Sabikis to get into them.
Reason i'm asking, is if i drone out a string of sabikis - perhaps weighted with a small lure on the bottom just to get them down, and with the mainline suspended from the surface via a balloon - then how deep down should i "typically" run my string of sabikis to have best chance of getting into the shoal?
With my Phantom 4, I would be looking at making flights out to maximum permissible flight length (300m), so certainly looking at tapping waters that would usually only be accessible to the boaters and kayakers.
Any opinions gratiously accepted.
thanks,
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby Its Ofishal » Sun May 17, 2020 1:55 pm

Hi GK I fish from a boat regularly and find anywhere from 5m to 15m are the best depths I get them off the northwest coast.

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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby cd07 » Sun May 17, 2020 2:16 pm

If I was float fishing for mackerel I would generally aim to fish mid water to have the best of both. But any surface activity and I'd shallow it up
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby GKC0806 » Sun May 17, 2020 4:41 pm

Thanks cd07,
So what actual depth (in metres) would you say is "mid-water"?
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby Gonzo » Sun May 17, 2020 4:44 pm

GKC0806 wrote:Thanks cd07,
So what actual depth (in metres) would you say is "mid-water"?


That would depend on the location and the stage of the tide, first you need to find bottom by increasing your stop knot until the float lies flat, then just bring the stop knot half way back once you've found bottom and you'll be fishing mid water! :D
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby mickser » Sun May 17, 2020 4:45 pm

in Howth you get right on the bottom 150 yds out off Balscadden rocks
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I have not fished in two years hoping to change that this year with anything ?
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby Teegerstk » Sun May 17, 2020 4:56 pm

I reckon you should have a look at navionics charts for your area to find the water depth of the area you'll be flying your feathers out to. Mid-water at that distance would be quite deep. I've always wanted to try drone fishing but I don't think my Mavic Mini has the necessary horsepower :wink: :shock:
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby GKC0806 » Mon May 18, 2020 8:39 am

Teegerstk wrote:I reckon you should have a look at navionics charts for your area to find the water depth of the area you'll be flying your feathers out to. Mid-water at that distance would be quite deep. I've always wanted to try drone fishing but I don't think my Mavic Mini has the necessary horsepower :wink: :shock:


Thanks Teegerstk,
That's a good call. Someone on the site has previously, kindly given me the link to some excellent navionic charting sites so makes good sense to check depth lines from shore, then using other kindly provided guidance as to "mid-water", me-thinks I would fly out three lines (one each for me and my two lads), with three different depth settings - 5m, 10m and 15m. Then i think at least one of us should get a string full.

As for your ambition to drone-fish, i would certainly encourage you to think about it, but definitely not with your mini-mavic. I'm not sure about proven lifting capability, but i get the feeling that it would only be able to lift a small weight - hey, perhaps it could drop a small lure some way out, assuming you're angling with a fairly light strain braid. For Droning, always use braid as mainline, as gives you greater line capacity and it's much lighter - remember your total lifting weight would include all terminal tackle plus bait, plus the line weight of the total distance flown out, eg 350m of line.
There are some excellent videos on you-tube and facebook on Drone Fishing. Check out Dronefishing.com and Gannet bait releases.
Perhaps an option would be to save up and get yourself a decent 2nd-hand unit (that's not gone for a swim)
cheers.
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby Teegerstk » Mon May 18, 2020 1:44 pm

That sounds good, would you just drop the rig and set your Phantom to RTH while reeling in? Have you ever had any dodgy moments while flying a bait out?
Also have you thought about targeting sharks from the shore? I know nothing of boat fishing and how far out you need to be but surely with the likes of the Phantom 4 the range is astonishing, surely it would be possible to connect with something out there.

I have thought about an upgrade from the Mavic Mini although it does exactly what I want for now which is just very basic photography and a decent range to scout out fishing marks (1500-2500m). One day I'll be able to pick up a Phantom 4, one day :lol:
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby GKC0806 » Mon May 18, 2020 3:06 pm

Hi Teegerstk,
Back in SA, most drone anglers target large non-edibles - essentially large sharks and rays - frequently over 100kgs - real arm stretchers. I've noted that in Australia and New Zealand and now in the USA, a lot of the drone anglers are more focused on targeting edibles such as snappers and the like.

I will certainly be putting in some efforts to fly out some large baits on this east coast - maybe off the headlands at Howth, possibly even off the South Wall pier, or a bit further south towards Bray/Greystones. Will also certainly be putting in some trips to the south and east coast to fly out into some seriously deep water with large baits.
Drone angling for large target species in deep water usually requires some serious equipment - typically a XH rated rod, ideally the largest reel you can fit holding something like >800m to 1000m minimum 50lbs braid, preferably 80lbs. I have a Torium 50 spooled with 1200m 80lbs braid fitted to a stout XH Shimano Talevera rod.

For targeting the Mackerel, I feel we can go much lighter and use our intermediate surf rods, since the terminal tackle won't be too heavy (maybe a few ounces at most), and reeling in a full string of macks won't be too heavy. This will also increase the number of flights out i could make before needing to charge the battery - maybe 8-10 drops at 300m.

The plan would be to simply knot (basic overhand knot) on a small party balloon (say two fists size) at the desired height above the string of sabikis (say 5m, 10m, 15m), with a small 1-2oz spoon or bucktail jig at the end as terminal unit to weight the whole string down in the current. I'd fly that out say 300m and drop, with drone returning on auto mode to pick up the next line for the next drop. As braid is so direct, i'm thinking that one would possibly get some feint tugs down the line (balloon could possibly get pulled under if a whole string of sabikis got connected), and yes, then either just let them drift around out there for a while, or slowly retrieve and see whether that elicits any hook-ups.
Flight distance (at least in populated areas) seems to be globally limited to regulated and prudent/common sense distance of 300m (that's edging towards the limit of naked-eye visual on your drone). Generally speaking we would not fly lines out higher than 30m above sea level, and constantly watching for errant (below legal height) aircraft and also sea-birds - gulls in particular have pretty shite eyesight and can cause a serious mishap to your drone in flight if a large seabird hooks into your line. You have to be ready to instantly jettison your line to allow the drone to recover stable flight.
In any event you would be limited in distance by the amount (and weight in the air) of the line - and bearing in mind you would want to keep at least 200-300m on the spool in case you connect to a proverbial Jaws.
regarding drone prices, don't get too stressed about the brands and prices. As with all technology, the prices do start falling, and remember, the DJI P4 and similar were primarily designed as airborne cameras/videos, not for carrying payloads and certainly not designed for "fishing". There are a whole lot of other brands our there that are designed almost exclusively for fishing (carrying baits),and don't then come with all the other fancy technology and 4G cameras etc.
Also, you may consider building your own custom payload drone. That would save a sack of cash. Just depends what you want to use it for.
Hope that helps.
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Re: Mackerel ~ Typical Average Depth?

Postby Teegerstk » Mon May 18, 2020 6:46 pm

GKC0806 wrote:Hi Teegerstk,
Back in SA, most drone anglers target large non-edibles - essentially large sharks and rays - frequently over 100kgs - real arm stretchers. I've noted that in Australia and New Zealand and now in the USA, a lot of the drone anglers are more focused on targeting edibles such as snappers and the like.

I will certainly...


Cheers for that GKC0806. Interesting that about custom drones, I've seen people make custom FPV ones for racing and the likes, never thought of a payload drone. Would be a great project.

The balloon sounds like a great idea, long range float fishing! I'm not too sure about fishing the Dublin coastline but I'd imagine you'd be able to hit some tope off the east coast beaches with your setup. Best of luck!
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