North, to Adventure

So way way back when I had a full head of hair I used to chase Spanish mackerel with a pro fisherman out of Crescent Head, on the NSW north coast:

This was nearly 40 years ago but the addiction is still as strong as ever. Try to get north each autumn when they ride the currents down but just like all of us family and business usually intervenes. The 2018 season had some good moments:

And since October last year have been getting everything prepped and ready. The 30-year-old galvanised trailer was upgraded to a new aluminium model. The 14-year-old station wagon got a serious steering problem fixed and, a new set of shocks. And the Mercury, on 1900 hours, scored a 12 month service, fresh wiring, and its control cables replaced. We’re ready to go:

But even more important than the gear is the weather. And haven’t we had some shocking storms and even cyclones recently? All of which generates the muddy water that mackerel hate. To top things off the current has been pumping hard. That’s not a good thing because it quite often produces the temperature phenomenon known as ‘turning over.’ Two weeks ago, at the height of summer, the water temperature was 18.5C at Crowdy Head. Check out this video I shot just a mile north of Bondi on Tuesday. The current was phenomenal, considering how close we were to shore:

But then the good news started to arrive. From Instagram, that’s Black Rock at Coffs in the background:

The always helpful Craig Stevenson sent through a sea temp chart showing it was warm everywhere offshore. No cold eddies to be seen:

Excitement building, when I checked out the forecast online:

It was time to head north. And when I mentioned this plan on Facebook, client pics from Saturday 16th poured in. Here’s a great pic sent in by Don Cummings:

Matthew Swan, with a beauty:

And last but not least, Trent Bracey at South West Rocks:

Thanks, Trent! Your pic had me shaking like a jam donut at a Weight Watchers convention. Because it’s midweek and so hard for friends and clients to get a work day off at short notice chances are, I’ll likely be fishing solo. Also, don’t know where the bait grounds are, and not sure where the mackerel are biting. But I’ve got a plan:

BAIT. Fresh garfish on a Head Start, rigged on light mono wire. That means I can go from the boat ramp to where the mackerel are, without trying to find live bait. Quick and easy to assemble. We include a bait needle, too:

Here’s how they look in the water:

Ben Hall writes on Sunday:

I always use a wire leader on mackerel! But usually short lengths, and light wire. Because they’re in clear water, and have eyes like a hawk.

My suggestion? 27 pound mono wire. Only about a foot long. Small quality swivel at the leader end, and small snap swivel at the business end. The bib on the Head Start generates plenty of action, so you don’t have to worry whether the mono wire is too stiff. But what I really like about Head Starts is that If you’ve got some good garfish or sauris you don’t have to stop at the bait grounds. Quite a few times blokes I’ve fished with have said, ‘the mackerel are on, but we gotta get live baits.’ But because the mackerel are thick, the bait grounds are getting hammered. We spend 30-40 minutes there and only get half a dozen baits. Then, when we get to the mackerel grounds, the fish are on fire and swimming behind the boat like a giant aquarium. This doesn’t happen all the time! But it does happen. Here’s where you can find out more:

HEAD STARTS

METHOD, downrigging. Getting the bait down deep always works, on mackerel. Here’s Bevan, using Head Starts on our downrigger:

Plenty of Instagram pics showing downrigging the way to go:

Here’s where you can find out more:

DOWNRIGGERS

As soon as I hook up – if I do hook up – I’ll throw over a double handful of pilchards. Where there’s one mackerel, there’s more. If the first fish gets landed, I’ll be using the popping combo, casting back into the pilchard oil slick with a stickbait. Only tried that once last season. Up at Double Island Point. We had just received our first shipment of the new stickbait range. Someone else hooked up on a trolled bait and I cast one in the general direction of where the strike happened. A big Spanish launched itself high into the air and hit the stickbait like the hammer of Thor. Unfortunately, because he was attacking from above, he struck the lure (leaving some good fang marks!) but missed the hooks. Keen to get into some more of that action:

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE! Just as I was closing off this week’s report on Sunday night, two messages from readers arrived. Both are very good news. Here’s Coffs Harbour fisho Don Cummings:

Ian Rae, at Crowdy Head north of Forster (on Sunday 17th too):

Cannot WAIT to get up there! Will report in next week as to how it all works out, lads. Until then, thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow

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