by Joe McGuire
This week’s fishing tips article I’m focusing on the winter season fish species – the Spanish Mackerel and my family’s favourite target species to dominate at the Boyne Tannum HookUp, which is a fishing competition in the Gladstone Region that occurs each year across the May Day long weekend in Bray Park, Boyne Island.
As the cooler months arrive in Central Queensland, so do the offshore breezes offering inshore coastal protection and glass out afternoon sessions allowing smaller vessels to venture up the protected coastlines in search of Spanish Mackerel as they migrate along the East coast.
School fish in the 8 to 15 kg size in big numbers and can be easily targeted. Larger fish 20kgs and over aren’t as prevalent as they don’t seem to gather in as larger schools as the smaller fish.
There’s a heap of techniques to catch Mackerel, from live bait, dead bait and a multitude of lure selections from high-speed hard bodies, slugs, stick baits, poppers, plastics, vibes and the list goes on.
Spanish are always enticed by speed, and as high-speed reels made their way onto the market word soon got around and most serious fishermen included an outfit with a slug attached ready to go.
Nowadays there’s hardbody lures that troll at ridiculous speeds to entice the bite making for an exciting experience. Let’s face it a Spanish bite is about as exciting as it gets.
Everyone’s seen YouTube footage of silver missiles leaping miles into the air and the blistering line peeling from the speed generated in their first run.
My recommendation is to experiment with all techniques, it’s a lot of fun and you’re guaranteed of learning something different with every technique and at the same time putting together a little more of the complex Spanish puzzle just like learning the art of Barramundi fishing.
There’s not much a Spanish won’t eat.
If I was to list the species they consume I’d run out of words for this column.
If you’re in Spanish country and float out a livey of pretty much any species you’re a good chance.
However, my favourite style is dead bait trolling. Larger fish are more likely to be caught using a natural bait as opposed to artificial lures, especially in the heavily fished waters simply because fish have evolved and become smarter after seeing or feeling imitation lures over time.
I’ve trolled many dead bait species with success, so give it a go, it will amaze you what they eat.
All that’s required is a set of gang hooks with a weighted chin, a wire trace and a bit of tie wire.
A quick search on YouTube on how to troll dead baits and you’ll find an awesome tutorial by a pro Spanish fisherman by the name of Peter Stephens. A must view.
Spinning baits aren’t effective.
So, if you’ve learnt from the tutorial the baits will swim ok with a bit of fine tuning, and your outfit is 50lb or bigger with at least 300 meters of line.
A few of the go-to dead baits are garfish, wolf herring, bonito, school and spotted mackerel. The best part about these species is they are mega fun to catch, and kids absolutely love this active style of fishing. So going fishing for Mackerel bait is a great way to involve the whole family in fishing and help to give them the passion for it.
Garfish can be easily caught with a dragnet in sheltered bays when burlied up with bread and a touch of oily Pilchard.
They are easily spotted on the oily surface once the burly trail entices them in. Then it’s a matter of who’s on the deep end of the drag net.
School and Spotted Mackerel can also be burlied up with Pilchards in the shallow bays and rocky headlands along the exposed coastline.
They will take a ganged Pilchard with little or no weight cast into the burly trail.
Use a transparent mono leader as opposed to a steel wire trace because these fish have good eyesight and will shy away from an unnatural trace.
This is visual fishing at its best.
There’s nothing like experiencing a school of excited Mackerel fighting over your bait in clear water and watching the bite.
Once the burley trail is established and the Mackerel are around, casting a hard body, vibe or slug into the trail and retrieving at high-speed works well.
Just ensure the heavy sinking lures hit the bottom first.
If you’re not into burlying up, then trolling spoons or hard bodies at speed works well.
Wolf Herring can be caught in the same areas on small artificial lures but tend to hang out in the shallower water.
They are very good at escaping once hooked as they tear off easily.
School and Spotted Mackerel and Bonito can also be caught off the exposed coastline by following the birds.
Equipped with extremely good eyesight, sea birds quickly hone in on a school of pelagic fish in a feeding frenzy and can be seen from a long-distance.
Trolling or throwing small slugs, spoons and artificial lures over the top and through the feeding fish works.
Quite often the School and Spotted Mackerel will be hanging out below the Tuna so be prepared to let your lure sink or use a deeper diving lure.
A proficient angler can tell the difference between Bonito, Tuna and Mackerel feeding action so take notice of what’s busting up.
School and Spotted Mackerel are exceptional eating, so if you’re not into converting your catch into a Spanish, then fillet them up and feed the family. You won’t be disappointed.
Dead baits that have been frozen and thawed out troll a lot easier than a fresh caught fish full of rigor mortis.
So, beginners and experienced fishermen should wrap their baits in glad wrap ready for a Spanish mission.
After a full day on the water collecting troll baits with the family, you’ll have enough baits in the freezer (nicely wrapped in glad wrap to prevent freezer burn and drying out) ready for a Spanish session.
Pick your local tackle shop’s brains for known Spanish hot spots in your area or target the exposed coastline rocky headlands and islands.
Look for clear water, bommies and current lines. A quality sounder properly tuned in will not only show Spanish but bait gatherings as well.
Slow trolling is the key. Spanish bite the tail off their prey first and come back for the rest of the immobilised fish.
Watch your rod tip constantly and up the revs when the rod buckles on the first bite.
Once hooked the first run will be the longest run.
Maintain constant pressure and fight the fish 45 degrees to the stern.
You’ll be doing a few circles to keep the fish in this position.
Take your time to tire the fish because you don’t want a green fish thrashing around on your gaff or in your boat.
Gaff the fish in the head area and ensure everybody’s out of the way of the razor-sharp teeth when the fish hits the deck.
A fish donga or brain spiking tool is next to quickly kill the fish. Be careful of the sharp teeth removing the hooks with pliers.
Bleed the fish by cutting around the gill area and put the fish on ice.
If you’re unfamiliar how to fillet a Spanish once again jump on YouTube for a tutorial, there’s plenty of information there.
Hopefully I’ve shared enough of my tips to entice you to chase the fast-paced Spanish.
Time on the water is the key to success. Also please remember Queensland Fisheries Department size and bag limits.
I also suggest you give it a go this variable winds winter season; so you don’t miss out on the opportunity.
Because you might have seen in the media about the Queensland Department of Fisheries stock assessment of Spanish Mackerel stocks in Queensland leading to closures of the species to professional and recreational anglers.
The importance of this fishery cannot be understated. If there were a permanent closure of this fishery it would have catastrophic effects on the professional fishing sector and businesses; including bait suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, takeaway shops and cafes; not to mention the recreational fishing gear suppliers.
Small businesses would suffer big time. So, I suggest you upskill yourself in case your local Fish and Chip shop has to shut down…
There is a heap of ways to cook Spanish from crumbed, battered, smoked, baked, sashimi and the list goes on.
However, the simplest suggestion for once you’ve learnt from YouTube how to fillet a Mackerel, is just to cut the fillets into steaks/portions, soak the flesh in white wine for half an hour, remove it, flour it and cook on the BBQ in olive oil/butter. You can’t mess it up.
To date we’ve had some extra-large Spanish weighed into the ALLSTARS INSALT online fishing competition and we expect more across the next 6-months as conditions cool across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia where you can enter and fish the comp to with cash prizes.
ALLSTARS INSALT 2023 ONLINE FISHING COMPETITION
This year’s ALLSTARS comp runs from 1 January to 31 December 2023.
You can get on our website to enter, or renew your membership if you’ve entered before at www.allstarsinsalt.com.au
The comp has expanded to include Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia (North from Geraldton) waters across 14 fish species (including freshwater Barra and Mangrove Jack).
So, if you want to compete against NORTH AUSTRALIA FISHING ALLSTARS best anglers, then you need to get on our website.
It only costs $110 (incl. GST & your FREE comp brag mat) and you could win thousands of dollars for fishing. If you’ve already got a competition brag mat, then we can send you a competition shirt instead.
So ALLSTARS has months of competition still to occur and stories to share.
I have decades of fishing tips and every two-weeks my Fishing Column is published in the Gladstone Today newspaper and on the ALLSTARS website.
A day on the water is better than a day at work.