Mackerel

Mackerel

Viking Lars | Saturday, 24 September 2016

I've been enjoying the late, warm summer we've been experiencing here in Denmark during september. Unusual 25-30 degrees C earlier thjis month have kept the mackerel schools close to shore for longer than usual and fishing has been good.

My Anderson Pontoon has allowed me to explore benues I already know, but in different wind conditions. Mackerel are most plentiful along the Danish west coast and if you're fishing from shore (which is possible certain places), you definetely need easterly winds. Any westerly wind kills flyfishing possibility - not least because the water close to shore gets murky with sand.

In the pontoon boat I can row out a good hundred meters and fish clear water - and cover more eater, looking for the mackerel. I think thre big schools are gone, and it's mostly smaller shoals or even single fish that remain.

I catch 3-5 mackerel in say 3 hours, and as such, the fishing is good, but not wild as it can be. But the mackerel are a bit bigger than they are during high summer, and thet are amazingly strong fighters for their size. A 6-700 gram mackerel will pull line from the reel.

I fish them on a 5-wt with fast sinking shootingheads and sand eel imitations and that usually brings in a few. Flat Wings are also very good.

It's great to explore new venues and get to learn the rythm of the North Sea. High tide is absolutely essential to bring in the mackerel (probably because high tide brings in shrimp, small herring and other bait). A falling tide can produce fish, but not as many as high tide.

Have a great weekend!

Lars