Do pike eat mackerel?
MACKEREL. Mackerel have caught me a lot of pike over the years, including my personal best. Getting hold of the right size and the freshest baits can be difficult in winter, so stock up when you find some good examples. I like ‘joey’ mackerel that are about 8ins long.
What is the best bait for mackerel?
“The most effective way of catching mackerel here is to use a string of lures or feathers. These basic lures are retrieved erratically through the water, mimicking small baitfish such as sand eels, which are the staple diet of mackerel. Plain white through to vivid day-glo orange colors work best here.
What size hooks for mackerel?
Typically, people fish with size 1-0 hooks, but this makes it harder to catch garfish and is a bit big for mackerel too, so something smaller like a size 4 is preferable.
What is the best rig for kingfish?
There are only six rigs I use: running ball sinker onto the bait, whole bait on a set of ganged hooks, live baiting a whole squid, sliding snooded hooks, bait suspended under a bobby cork, or a bait suspended under a balloon. Try anchoring about 6-10m up current of a marker buoy or channel marker.
What is the best lure for kingfish?
The most effective for larger kingfish have been the Nomad Stick bait and popper range. The Nomad Riptide has amazing action and a reputable lure for a large range of pelagics. Sinking hard bodies are the go to when fish are not feeding or pushing bait to the surface.
What should I troll for kingfish?
4. Kingfish Baits and Lures. Silvery live baits such pilchards, threadfin herring, menhaden, mullet and blue runners are preferable to dead baits, according to virtually all top tournament anglers.
How do you slow troll for king mackerel?
Try slow trolling around the bait for 15 or 20 minutes. If this doesn’t work, go to the next plan. The Canaveral buoy line provides structure for both baitfish and predators. Slow trolling up one side and down the other of this line, or try zig-zagging across it (stay out of the way of large vessels).
What is the best speed to troll for mackerel?
The secret to more effective Mackerel trolling is speed. If you want to catch more Mackerel on lures, troll faster. While 6 knots is okay, 7, 8, 9 or 10 knots is even better. The faster you can troll, the more likely you are to get connected.
What’s the best dead bait for pike?
Soft rayed fish that have lots of natural oil in the skin and flesh make the best dead baits for pike fishing. These natural oils leech into the water and help to attract pike that may be cruising in the area. Some of the best dead baits are smelt, alewives, small whitefish, chubs, and the always popular sucker.
Where do I hook smelt?
We would hook the smelt in front of the dorsal fin with the hook in line with the backboneand the barb facing forward. That way, when you stopped the line the barb would easily penetrate tough tissue.