Mackeral bait

Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:05 pm

I just bought 3 whole Mackeral in Tesco there and got them filleted, as i'm not going fishing today, i stuck the fillets straight in the freezer, do they keep fresh well by freezing or does it have any negative effect on it?

Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:30 pm

it's usually better to freeze whole mackerel than filleted, after thawing out the filleted mack will need a bit more thread to hold it on to the hook better, as well whole mack keeps the blood in the fish better while freezing(good for scent, filleted looses its colour (goes whiteish) due to blood loss...
the best ways to use mack is get it very fresh and onto the hook, failing that cut strip off frozen mack and put it on hook while frozen, as it thaws it releases its scent slowly into the water...

only use fillet as a last resort........

well thats my opinion anyway...

Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:49 pm

stevecrow74 wrote:it's usually better to freeze whole mackerel than filleted, after thawing out the filleted mack will need a bit more thread to hold it on to the hook better, as well whole mack keeps the blood in the fish better while freezing(good for scent, filleted looses its colour (goes whiteish) due to blood loss...
the best ways to use mack is get it very fresh and onto the hook, failing that cut strip off frozen mack and put it on hook while frozen, as it thaws it releases its scent slowly into the water...

only use fillet as a last resort........

well thats my opinion anyway...

Cheers! i'll know next time, i would have bought whole mack but really didn't have room in the freezer, hope the bait will be of some use anyway..

Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:58 pm

ah yeah.. fillets will work grand, but you'll be supprised in the difference in using whole... come mack season we'll all be spoilt for choice... :D :D

Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:21 pm

They stayed on the hook well anyway, lol

Mon Apr 24, 2006 7:50 pm

Aye, they were deadon. Got a couple more today, 4 fresh mackeral fillets for £1.50, seems alright to me!

Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:18 pm

Sound. 8)

Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:33 pm

Hopefully wont be long before you can be catching them yourself! :D

Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:42 pm

You don't want to see Livid when there's live mackeral involved.... :lol:

Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:53 pm

like that is it :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Mon Apr 24, 2006 8:56 pm

Drew wrote:You don't want to see Livid when there's live mackeral involved.... :lol:

:x :x :x Hellish things..

I'm convinced that lost souls headed for the underworld are converted into Mackeral.

Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:02 pm

lol.... They can be quite messy at times.

Mon Apr 24, 2006 9:02 pm

Drew wrote:lol.... They can be quite messy at times.

Erm, i forgot about that. :shock: :x