Boat Mackerel Reports '13 here...

Hello all,
Here's the one for the boatmen, hope to be out in April with the help of Kevin Murphy, Bella Vista, 8 of us (from 5 counties + across the water) looking forward to at day out from Cobh, so I'll be contributing at least once to this thread in 2013 (with the help of God!) .

Some reasons why this is a good resource for this community of anglers:

1. Increase chances of catching nice dinner
2. Tempt you to try fishing for them with a fly rod or very light gear
3. Allow you to bring nippers along, they'll NEVER forget catching the first mack
4. If it works it might mean less time fishing for bait (if the bait is mack)
5. it might mean less need to haul in loads at a time for bait for the freezer during the season
6. Use the info to avoid dangerously packed venues (I have found the morning tide can be like a different planet, a quiet, safe one
above are the 'selfish' reasons, other reasons are:
7. If supported it could provide an annual 'database' on mack stocks, allowing rough comparison from year to year
8. Might cut down on the need to take extra macks in a session, which is good for the fish.

Please support it all through the season, and more important than reporting catches, please report blanks (as I am very well practised at).
Any confirmed information is going to be really useful to someone.

Thanks to all and tight lines!

Blackie

Ya good idea

Seems to me macks are getting smaller and smaller every season. Maybe adding some kind of size assessment to the reports would help us keep an eye on this?

Been so scarce down my way for the last couple of years, would be good to see if its my tactics or if they just aren't there:)

Was out from Cahirciveen, on board Fuego, see here http://www.kerryseaanglingcharters.com/ and one lad had 3 macks on the one drop, all were small though. The skipper, Des, said that there had been some caught the weekend before also. One guy also had 3 herring on the one drop.

Regards Wez

Loads of Mack outa Killybegs on Saturday, some really big ones at that!

Loads outa Culdaff on Sunday.

Sunday 19th.

Caught a dozen in about 15 minutes east of the bottle.
Shoaling at 140ft.

Sunday 19th.

Caught a dozen in about 15 minutes east of the bottle.
Shoaling at 140ft.

We got a half dozen down that direction too on Sunday afternoon Donal. Sporadic, and typically whilst dropping down after having giving up hope of catching any that day....reduced to a couple of launce and herring for bait till that point...

Only one mackerel yesterday - a lonely big fella!
Tried the usual harbour areas and out off Trabolgan without success. The big one was caught on bait on a reef east of the smiths.

Caught one mackerel out of Youghal Sunday tried plenty different spots and fishing the flooding tide

Jeez, they were going crazy out there today....

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?vi ... 8625226%22

It was like that in Bulloch Harbour all last year

Jeez, they were going crazy out there today....

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?vi ... 8625226%22

If only, thats great

Jeez, they were going crazy out there today....

https://www.facebook.com/video/embed?vi ... 8625226%22

If only, thats great

Wouldn't even chance those mackerels with those Bonito flying around.

What country was this video taken?

None around Carlingford-Dundalk Bay today. In fact, no fish to talk of - I think the new agreements in the EU have come too late for that area. The dredging for razorfish has left the bottom completely sterile,so there are no fish left anywhere in the region. I think we'll have to move the boats to the west coast.

got 6 macs at bar bouy wexford today,
there on the way

getting them in Ringsend

None around Carlingford-Dundalk Bay today. In fact, no fish to talk of - I think the new agreements in the EU have come too late for that area. The dredging for razorfish has left the bottom completely sterile,so there are no fish left anywhere in the region. I think we'll have to move the boats to the west coast.

It's not much better over here at the moment, just the odd one, and in poor condition.

Update: More showing in Killala Bay today (Tues 4/6) but very small and outnumbered by swarms of juvenile pollack. Water temp just over 13C.