Whole Slimey Mackerel
Whole Slimey Mackerel cryovac-packed packets
Fresh Slimey Mackerel ready for proccessing
Techniques
Slimey Mackerel can be used in a wide range of techniques from bottom bashing for reef species such as Snapper, Kingfish and Perl Perch to slow trolling for your pelagic species such as Spanish Mackerel, Wahoo, and Marlin.
Matty “Reddog” Jarman with a nice cobia caught on a Slimey Mackerel (Gold Coast QLD)
Bait rigging
When preparing your bait on gang hooks you want to line your hooks on top of the bait, ensuring the top hook finishes in the eye of the bait. Now starting from the bottom hook penetrating your bait through the tail ensuring to line your hooks up in the middle of the bait, you finish with the top hook through the eye of the bait.
For single hook rigs starting from the bottom of the bait penetrate your hook through the tail end, pulling the hook all the way through the bait and over the eye of the hook, rotating your hook at 180 degrees, penetrate the hook back through the shoulder of the bait. rotating hook and bringing it out the same side ensuring to get a good exposure of the barb, a half hitch can be added with your leader line around the tail of the bait, this will keep your bait straight and give a better presentation of your bait. When using smaller hooks, half baits can be used with the same method.
Double hook snell rigs are a popular rig to use when float lining to rig a bait on a double snell. Push your top hook through the tail of the bait, then bring your bottom hook through the shoulder of the bait rotating hook and bringing it out the same side ensuring to get a good exposure of the barb.
Rigging trolling baits, you can buy premade rigs such as chin weighted rigs and bait skirt rigs for these methods, they come in a wide range of styles. When rigging a troll bait for under the surface line your top hook up with the chin of the bait whether you start from the back of the bait or the front depends on what style rig you have with the gang hook style you want to start from the back of the bait penetrating the bait from underneath ensuring to keep your hooks straight finishing with top hook/chin weighted penetrating through the bottom of chin all the way through the top of the head. With the treble stinger style rigs, you want to start from the top of the rig and nose of the bait by using the same process penetrating your chin-weighted rig/top hook through the nose of bait then take your treble and pin it in the back of the bait.
River and estuaries
Smaller hook-size rigs are commonly used in the rivers and estuaries with half baits being the choice, but whole baits can be used also when targeting those bigger species of fish that inhabit these areas.
Dan caught this Jewsfish on a Slimey Mackerel (Yamba NSW)
Beach fishing, headland, and Rock wall
Gang hooks rigs with large ball sinkers are most used off the beaches, headlands and rock walls targeting Tailor, Mulloway, Australian Salmon and a variety of other species.
Spotty Mackerel caught by Alison using Tweed Bait Slimey Mackerel
Offshore fishing
Double hook Snell rigs are the angler’s top choice for chasing Snapper, Cobia and Kingfish float lining whole baits back into the current behind the boat with small ball sinkers. (Upsize your sinkers in stronger currents).
Trolling baits under the surface a chin weight style rig is required if a skip bait is desired then baits skirts style rig can be added to your bait to keep it in place and provide longer durability of the bait whilst being towed.
Bottom fishing for reef fish, paternoster style rigs are the most used rig for this method.