Mackerel cones

Hi,

I think I'm heading out of the Downings in Donegal at the start of October to target spurdogs.

I know nothing about boat fishing and less about spurdog, so I need a wee bit of help!

I read on the species section in here that a mackerel cone is the best bait to use for them. What exactly is a mackerel cone and how should they be presented?

Cheers.

Check out this info http://www.fishingchannel9.dnsdyn.net/

It will save me writing it all out for you. A mackerel cone is basicly a joey mackerelcut in half and then take the tail end and cut the tail fins off.. This stops it spinig in the tide. Use a 6/0 hook pierceing the flesh through the tail end. I would normally present a bait like this by sliceing it as either a flapper or four way flapper to release the scent better. What i mean by this is that you cut up half way along the bait along the spine to create two 'flaps' of flesh. This can be done twice to create four flaps of flesh. If doggies are a problem takig the bait in large numbers, try sliceing the mackerel in half diagonally thus creating a larger surface area of exposed bloody flesh for both baits. Then do not cut it into a flapper. This makes it more resistant to doggies making it harder for them to pull lumps out of it. In theory your bait should last longer. I have found that the head end of the bait to be better for big fish as the guts hold more blood etc. Just put the hook into the mackerels mouth and pierce the hook out through its top lip or forehead. This creates a very strong hook hold to the bait while exposeing the hook point very well. Any fish able to take a bait of this size has no trouble taking a hook of that size! Spurdog run with the bait like Tope and Smooth hound. A nice big hook exposed well is crucial to making a hook up... :wink:

Sorry that link was supposed to take you to the spurdog page but i messed up. You will find it on 'Know your Species' under Spurdog. :oops:

Yeah I had a look in there already Luke, that's where I foud out about this mackerel cone.

Cheers for the advice.

Just one more quick question, do you (or anyone else for that matter!) know if there will still be mackerel around Donegal at the start of October?

Not sure about this. In some years they certainly do around Dublin. I can not speak for that part of the country cos I don't know. One thing I am sure of though is that fresh bait is ALWAYS better than frozen. Frozen mackerel is a good bait but when it comes to flappers i have no faith in it. In this situation when fishing for Tope I would take my frozen stuff and use it for Rubby dubby and then catch a whiting or doggie and use them as my actual bait! At least they are fresh. Mackerel is always prefered and is by far the best bait. This is because there is so much oil and blood in them. This allows Big fish like Spurs, Tope and Ray pick up the scent trail quickly and move in before the doggie plague gets there first. I doubt very much that most sharks actually actively hunt mackerel in the wild as they are a huge shoaling fish and very fast. This tends to put sharks off as they are lazy by nature only using their energy for short bursts when they actually have to. I would imagine Tope and Spurs feed primarily on small flatties, Whiting, small Codling etc. These are the slower swimmers and would be working the bottom over sand where the Spurs and Tope would be searching for them. Mackerel seems to lose its blood flow after it has been frozen. It congeals in the freeze and is never as effective as when fresh. Whiting and Pout while not as bloody, do make a good alternative when fresh and will take fish but I would back this up with rubby dubby or chum. :wink:

Hi Shamrock

Mackerel will still be around in November but offshore. They can last right through to December is the weather is not too cold or rough. Catching them can be another matter. They tend to go "off" for whatever reason and will not take even if from a shoal - not entirely sure why this is, maybe more interested in spawning or a specific bait fish or whatever... skippers will often refer to them going "blind" which - maybe someone can enlighten - seems to mean that they go off feeding and simply will not take on lures.

Still an excellent bait, whatever the time of year...

FWIW...

Say I couldn't get any fresh mackerel, and bought a load of them in Tescos.

They are gutted - could you still use then as a cone, for example?

If they are fresh yes! It depends how long they have been lying in tescos of course but they would be better than frozen and cheaper too! If possible I would go for the whole fish if they have it in a fish mongers as they often do...