Keppel Bay Mackerel – By Nick Thompson

Every year between the months of May and August the winds start to drop and the water begins to cool. This brings an abundance of mackerel of all species in the Keppel Bay region. Mackerel are a great all round species as they pull hard and are great table fish.

Fishing with light lines makes great fun when mackerel fishing.

The gear you use for mackerel ranges dramatically depending on species such as for the smaller species like doggies and spotties just your average barra setup of about a 5-10 kg rod and a 3000 to 4000 size reel. One benefit is that mackerel won’t reef you, so in shark free areas I’ve gone to 2 – 4kg rod and 2500 size reel just for some fun on light gear. When we start moving into Spanish mackerel area we do need a bit bigger and heavier gear, as Spanish mackerel grow much larger – This means we need a bit more stopping power than the doggies and spotty mackerel. A 10 – 15kg rod will suffice with 4000 to 5000 reel. Looking at braid size, I find 20 to 40 lb braid is perfect as abrasion resistance isn’t super important. One thing that you will need to pay attention to when buying reels is the gear ratio, especially when lure fishing for mackerel. More often than not you throw spoons and need speed winding them back so the  higher gear ratio will be best for spoons. As well, mackerel are fast and you’ll need this high gear ratio when the fish is swimming towards the boat, which they will often do. So you don’t lose the fish, you need to pick up the line quickly to keep pressure on the fish.

A net can help with quick landing when sharks are playing havoc.

Like most fish, lure fishing is the most fun way to target, and this is especially true with mackerel. High speed lures and high speed fish make a great combination. Spoons or jigs are the most common and most effective lure used in the Keppel Bay area. All these spoons are is a piece of metal with a hook on the end and as you wind it in, it twists, catching light and flashing looking like an injured baitfish. A high speed wind is the method for spoons as this will catch the most attention and draw in the mackerel for a strike. Most spoons will work, but my favorites include the Flasha lures and the TT hard core spoon. Another lure that works similarly to spoons are jigs. However, I prefer spoons, as jigs and hooks are generally attached by rope which mackerel can chew through easily. Jigs can be speed wound or jigged from the bottom. Flick baits or jerk bait are another great option, especially when the mackerel are feeding on small baitfish. Jerk baits work best by a burn and kill action. Jerk baits are great for this burn and kill action as during the burn the lure tail dances like an injured fish and during the kill the lure will slowly glide down and during the glide the mackerel smack the lure. With lures for mackerel I believe having flash is important so having colors like bad shad, opening night and get er done are the best. If it is possible when fishing with lures I opt not to use a wire trace as this can spook the fish so instead use an 80lb leader. You may lose the odd fish but the fish will commit to a strike much more often. The last lure I pack for a mackerel trip are high trolling hardbodies, these come in handy when looking for lone fish that will sound around for bait.

Pillies will account for a lot of good fish around the Keppels.

Mackerel are not shy of a dead bait and love, and I mean love a pillie. Other baits do work such as herring and yakkas, (especially when live) but pillies seem to be the out rate favorite for mackerel. Rigging the bait with a set of gang hooks is important as mackerel often miss hooks and a gang just allows for the best hook rate. Generally when I’m bait fishing for mackerel I’ll have three rods out, one on the bottom, a weightless bait which will cover the most amount of water column and one on a float, this allows me to cover all areas to find where the mackerel are feeding. I often do run wire with my baits as I find them not as skittish with baits and will still take a bait with wire. Another option with baits is also trolling. Garfish are a favorite, especially for the smaller doggie and spotty mackerel. However for the big Spanish mackerel trolling ribbon fish and even (legal sized) doggy mackerel are the most effective. For trolling baits you’ll need a premade bait trolling rig as this allows the baits to swim naturally.

A large doggy mackerel going 73cm, only a few klms off shore.

Having even a simple traditional sounder will be really helpful for finding mackerel. The most important factor is using it to find bait balls holding down deep. Mackerel are almost always following bait schools looking for a feed. Without a sounder, looking to the sky is the best way to find fish. Birds do the hard work and find bait schools that mackerel and other pelagics have herded to the surface. The other way to find mackerel is trolling. You can either troll bait or lure however I prefer lures as they are easier to use and oftentimes a lot less messy. Now trolling can be a long and fishless task if you’re not covering the right water, but can become very productive once you find the fish, as this means you can then hold onto the school and fish them.

A four inch jerk was getting the bite, you can see the TT headlocks pinned in the corner.

That’s an overview of these great species, as they do really pull hard and make a great feed as well. Fishing for mackerel around the Kepples can be hard as there is a lot of water that all looks relatively similar to fish. A few starting spots for the smaller boats which are close to get to include Iron Pot and Quartz Rock. The benefits of these places are that you can be fishing within 15 minutes of launching and still get a good feed, and be home before the Keppel Bay winds wind up in the afternoon. Stretching a little further, head towards the 40 acre paddock or Conical Rock. When the weather is nice you can also punch out towards Barren, Man and Wife and Outer Rock pushing out these extra couple klms will see more Spanish mackerel rather than doggies and spotties. This doesn’t mean the land based fisherman will miss out as when the mackerel are running through the bay, land caught doggies and spotties are often caught right from the rocks at Rosslyn Bay. Mackerel are one fish that have many different species, different sizes and different bag limits; so ensure you know you’re mackerel before keeping a feed.