Atlantic mackerel, everyone here calls them Boston mackerel, are one of the most useful fish in New England. They show up in spring in big schools, they are easy and fun to catch on a string of small flies, they make superb live bait for the biggest gamefish we have, and they are excellent eating in their own right.
What they are
Mackerel are slim, fast, streamlined fish with a steel-blue back marked by dark wavy bars and a silvery belly. Small ones are called tinkers, prized as a perfectly sized live bait. Do not confuse them with the yellow-spotted Spanish mackerel, a different, warm-water fish.
Where and when
Mackerel are mainly a spring and early-summer visitor, arriving in big schools as the water warms, with a return push possible in fall. They roam harbors and open water, often marking as thick clouds on the sounder, and you catch them by dropping into the school.
Catching them on a sabiki rig
The standard way to catch mackerel is a sabiki rig, a light leader strung with a series of small branch hooks (usually five or six) dressed with flash, fish skin or bits of tinsel to imitate tiny baitfish, with a weight at the bottom to carry it down. It is simple, fast, and made for filling a bait tank or a cooler in a hurry.
How to fish one:
- Find the school. Mackerel show as thick clouds on the sounder; get over them before you drop.
- Drop to the fish. Clip a bank sinker to the bottom loop, or tie on a small diamond jig for extra weight and an extra hook, and let the rig sink to the depth you are marking fish.
- Jig it. Work the rod with small, steady lifts and drops. The mackerel slash at the little dressed hooks, and you will often feel several load up at once.
- Reel up steadily and swing them aboard, then drop them straight into a livewell for bait, or onto ice for eating and cut bait.
Tip Match the sabiki hook size to the fish, smaller for little tinker mackerel. And handle the multi-hook rig with care: those tiny hooks tangle and bite fingers, so control the fish and the rig as you swing them in. Keep bait lively in a well-aerated tank; a fresh mackerel is worth far more than a tired one.
How anglers use them
- Live bait: a live-lined or bump-trolled mackerel is a premier big-bass bait, and a top bluefin bait.
- Match the hatch: when bass and tuna are on mackerel, throw mackerel-pattern plugs, swimbaits and jigs.
- Table fare: rich and oily, mackerel are delicious fresh off the grill, just bleed and ice them promptly.