Please don’t laugh but consider this about mackerel.

I have been prompted to write this after reading a few UK sea angling forums and reading what people have said about our humble mackerel.

The Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus is a pelagic fish (mid water) which shoal in great numbers around the UK coast in late spring. Huge numbers can be caught from boats and the shore, the warmer the water the better.

I find this amazing, but I read on wikipedia that they can live to be 20 years old! So consider that first when you bring them up 5 on a string!!

The largest rod caught mackerel was 6lb 13 oz – wow, that would be a great fish!!

They can swim at 20mph faster than most of us can run!!

The fish makes a great all round bait for Shark, Conger, Bass, Ray, Huss and almost anything else that feeds in the sea!!

They also make for good eating and can be served in many ways, baked, boiled, smoked, steamed, BBQ’d, salted you name it!!

The most common method for catching these fish would be using 5 lures / feathers on one line, dropping this to the seabed, then pumping the rod up and down, then after a few mins. At this depth, wind the lures up 5 feet and try again. Keep doing this until you catch some, then next drop get to the same level and you will catch more,

but …………….

Considering the above why not consider them a sport fish, use light tackle or fly rods and enjoy what they have to offer. This is a power packed fish, a sprinter of our seas!

Come on people lets see some RESPECT for the MACKEREL in 2007 !

Hayle is located in St Ives bay and is the town located near the mouth of the river HAYLE.

There are mud flats at low tide with jetties, piers and banks to fish from. The target species are Mullet, flatties and Bass. I have heard of bream being caught in some of the pools in the estuary.

There are very strong tides here so be careful, but these tidal flows seem to be where the bass hunt.

If you follow the water out to sea the are changes. Mud flats become golden, clean sand. This area is a classic surf beach. Bass, Flatties and Rays are caught from here as well as other species including Dog fish. The sand as I have said is clean so think about where to fish for best results, look for gullies!!.

Parking is plentiful in the area.

Fishing becomes restricted in the summer with holiday makers all over the beaches and surrounding area.