GOING LIVE
Fishing a fresh and kicking mackerel has got to be one of the most exciting ways of catching bass
It’s he most exciting way to catch bass.
Bass fishing using lures is currently riding on the crest of a wave with British sea anglers, and quite rightly so. Catching what is arguably our most popular species of saltwater sports fish on light tackle must rate as being one of the most exciting experiences a sea angler can have with a fishing rod in this country.
Of course, lures are designed to mimic some form of baitfish, either by replicating their appearance or their action, but there can be no disputing that even the most effective lure ever crafted by the most skilled Japanese artisan is never going to be as good as the real thing.
I’m not about to dive headlong into a thousandword lecture on why livebaits are so much better than lures, because quite simply that isn’t true. There are situations where a skilled lure angler will catch plenty of bass using different types of lure, including situations where it is either impractical or impossible to effectively use a livebait, if these are available.
I have fished with both artificial lures and livebaits for many years and, depending upon the situation I am faced with, I am happy to fish both. That said, whenever I have a livebait kicking away at the end of my line, my anticipation of an imminent strike is infinitely higher than when casting a moulded piece of beautifully painted plastic.
INCREDIBLE FISHING
Many years ago, I was seated in a restaurant with bass angling luminaries John Darling and Clive Gammon. Throughout the evening the conversation revolved around angling, notably our experiences of fishing for bass throughout the UK and Ireland.
John was enthusing about the incredible fishing he’d been experiencing off the Sussex coast, where he had been catching many big fish using live mackerel. A few days later Clive and I were aboard my own boat and we decided to follow John’s advice. Drifting through a lively rip near Oxwich Point, we soon caught a few mackerel, rigged them as John had described, and within no time at all Clive was displaying a very nice bass in front of my camera.
Over the decades since that memorable evening I have used live mackerel along with various other species of fish on many occasions, and in the process caught my fair share of bass. That live mackerel are a deadly bait for bass
is certainly no great secret today, so why is it so rare to see boat anglers actually using a freshly caught mackerel for bait?
Aside from a few serious anglers, who mostly fish aboard their own boats and who do use live mackerel to the exclusion of almost any other bait when targeting bass, rarely do I see crews aboard charter boats fishing anything other than live sandeels. Invariably, these need to be purchased, subject to availability, in advance.
Autumn is prime time for bass in many areas, and as September eased towards October I drove down to the Pembrokeshire harbour town of Saundersfoot, where I had booked a day’s fishing aboard local charter boat Ebony May with owner/skipper Stuart Denman at the helm.
The trip had been arranged to focus on catching bass. Stuart confirmed that the bass fishing had been excellent. While drifting over local reefs his crews had caught considerable numbers of bass, almost all of which had been taken on live mackerel. Provided we could catch mackerel, we would be doing the same.
EXPERT CHOICE
Less than five minutes after slipping out of Saundersfoot Harbour, Stuart eased back the throttle and we started to drift off a rocky headland where, already, a few other boats were attempting to catch fresh mackerel for bait.
We started picking up a few fish immediately, but our arrival had coincided with high water slack tide, so we weren’t hauling aboard full strings of fish. Slowly but surely, we acquired sufficient baits for the trip. These were carefully unhooked, then kept in a spacious and wellaerated tank, which is essential if you intend keeping mackerel alive for any length of time.
As we headed out to the first bass mark, a small isolated reef little more than the size of a tennis court and in about 60ft of water, I noted with interest the rig Stuart had recommended that the rest of the crew use.
Today Stuart is a full-time charter skipper, but in a previous life he earned his living fishing commercially, often for bass, often using rod and line and livebaits. When it comes to catching fish on rod and line, few anglers are equal to the expertise of those who rely on catching fish for a living. A long time ago I learnt that whenever you get an opportunity to closely observe a technique from a commercial fisherman, then you should take it.
Stuart’s live mackerel rig was simplicity in itself. First, he threaded a cheap plastic zip slider on the mainline, followed by a single bead and a swivel. A 10-12ft hooklength made with clear 25lb monofilament was tied to the bottom end of the swivel, with a treble hook at the other end of the line. Optimum size of hook used depends on the size of livebait available, but will typically be between about size 2 for a small Joey mackerel and size 1/0 for larger baits.
Stuart favours ball weights, which fall freely through the water column, minimising the risk of tangling. The lead weight should be large enough to maintain
bottom contact, depending on water depth and flow of tide, which in the area we were fishing equates to 6-12oz. One point of the hook is secured to the top of the mackerel’s mouth (see picture on page 50), and that’s it.
ON THE FISH
When we arrived at the first bass mark Stuart confirmed he was marking fish on the boat’s electronics. Consequently, it was with great anticipation that half-a-dozen lively mackerel were sent swimming on what was, hopefully, a one-way trip to the bottom.
“You need to be on the bottom, not in it,” said Stuart. “Slowly drop your rig all the way down until you feel the lead weight tap on the seabed, then lift it clear a foot or so to prevent it from snagging.
“As we drift over the mark, occasionally drop back down as the depth here is continually changing, but remember it is essential that your bait is swimming on or very near the bottom.”
Clearly, Andrew Matthews had heeded the advice because in no time at all he was calling for the landing net as his bent rod confirmed he had hooked a decent fish, the first of three bass he went on to catch in the first hour.
On the second drift Colin Robertson hooked his first bass of the day. Throughout the session we steadily picked away at the fish, but Stuart was disappointed that the fishing we were experiencing was noticeably slower than it had been the previous couple of days, confidently attributing this to the fact the tides were dropping away from perfect springs to not so productive neaps.
We tried a few different marks, with each one producing a few fish, both on live mackerel and some of the sandeels Stuart had provided, just in case.
The current minimum size limit for bass caught in UK waters is 42cm, and a lot of bass seem to be either just above or just below this measurement. I think a bag limit of one fish or a complete ban on taking fish creates an appalling state of affairs, but that is the current situation.
Stuart told me that he is often boarded by fisheries patrol officers, who will check absolutely everything his crews have caught.
Stuart has made an ingenious measuring gauge consisting of a 42cm length of plastic guttering with a blank section at one end, open at the other. To measure a fish, you simply lay it in the guttering with the fish’s nose touching the blank. If the tail extends over the open end of the guttering then the fish is a keeper (when allowed) – if not it must be returned.
This really is a very simple and effective tool to carry aboard any boat. ■