For the sake of accuracy, I may need to rename my DIY mackerel rig in light of the fact that I’m mostly catching pollock on it. A lot of pollock.

In spite of persistent rain showers yesterday, my wife (who is also my new social media manager) and I made a trip back to the Schoodic Peninsula to do a little fishing and get away from the TV for a while. I also wanted to test the effectiveness of small sandbags as fishing weights (an article on that is planned for the near future).

The harbor pollock were biting almost non-stop during the two hours prior to high tide. Sometimes, we were catching 2 to 3 at a time. Even small fish can offer a decent fight when you reel in three at once. We ended the trip with 13 pollock in the cooler.

A triple!

The day’s catch.

It may seem odd that someone who has been fishing as long as I have gets excited over a catch of small fish. Indeed, every angler dreams of hooking into a tackle-busting record, but in order to truly enjoy fishing, one must learn to appreciate and enjoy small fish.

Small fish are typically abundant, voracious, and bite readily (large fish didn’t get that way by attacking any bait or lure that crossed its path). Additionally, some small fish have a high meat to bone ratio and when caught in sufficient quantity can provide the base for a great meal. Pollock are one of those small fish that are delectable table fare and the icing on the cake is that they are also easy to fillet and cook.

A plate of crispy fried pollock after a day of fishing in the rain.

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We initially thought the trip was going to be a bust in as the first two hours of fishing did not yield a single bite. The hour prior to high tide, however, yielded a good deal of action and we landed a total of 11 mackerel and two small pollock. The 4 largest mackerel were in the 12-13-inch range, which is larger than typical.

My wife caught the three largest of the above mackerel simultaneously on a sabiki rig. The combined fight offered by the fish was substantial and she initially thought that she had become snagged on a bed of seaweed.

Mackerel are possibly the ultimate fun fish of the northwestern Atlantic. They can be easily caught from shore on inexpensive gear and a successful outing requires absolutely no skill or finesse on the part of the angler. If mackerel are present and biting, they will indiscriminately attack any bright and shiny object small enough to fit in their mouths. On a good day, these traits can make for hours of non-stop action.

Methods and gear

There are undoubtedly numerous methods for catching mackerel, but I prefer casting from secluded sections of shoreline rather than jigging from piers and floats as such convenient and comfortable structures tend to be a bit crowded.

A medium weight freshwater spinning rod/reel combo loaded with 12 to 14 pound monofilament line is all that is needed for mackerel fishing. A light or ultra light setup will also work in a pinch, but may not have the strength needed to contend with waves, currents, and frequent snags on rocks and seaweed.

For a rig, I prefer a sabiki or similar multi-hook rig attached to a 1 to 2-ounce casting or trolling sinker. The line from the reel attaches to the barrel swivel at the top of the rig and the sinker attaches to the snap swivel at the bottom of the rig. Some anglers employ a mackerel jig in lieu of a plain sinker, but my experience has been that such jigs greatly increase the likelihood of a snag.

Above: A sabiki rig attached to a 2-ounce trolling sinker, ready to catch some fish.

To fish, simply cast and then retrieve the retrieve the rig at a moderate pace. Nothing more complicated is required. If mackerel are around and hungry, they’ll bite.

A note on mackerel as table fare

Mackerel have an unfair reputation as an excessively strong tasting and oily fish. While the meat is darker and stronger than flounder or haddock, it is not nearly as strong as tuna, swordfish, or even salmon.

As with all fish, the key to optimizing flavor is care and preparation. I immediately place any fish I catch into an ice filled cooler. Fish that are left in the summer heat will undoubtedly soften and begin to spoil before the end of the fishing trip. Additionally, I like to clean my catch before leaving the water, making sure to remove the gills, which begin to spoil quickly. Mackerel can be left whole for cooking, but I absolutely hate having fish bones wedge themselves between my teeth, so I put in the extra effort required to produce boneless fillets.

Since mackerel are a naturally flavorful fish, light and simple seasoning is all that is required. Salt, pepper, and garlic or alternatively a light soy sauce or teriyaki-based marinade is a good choice of seasoning. Grilling and broiling are the best cooking methods for mackerel and care should be taken not to overcook and dry out the fillets. The finished product will be good hot or cold when paired with a fresh garden salad. (24)

After moving from landlocked Vermont to the coast of Maine a few years ago, I became enamored with fishing for Atlantic mackerel during the summer months. In late June or early July every year, large schools of these sleek, colorful, fish move from their deep-water winter habitat into harbors and coves where they can be easily caught by an angler with even the most basic fishing gear.

One particularly effective method for catching mackerel is with a rig often referred to as a mackerel tree. A mackerel tree is simply a length of heavy monofilament line off of which shorter lengths of line branch.  At the end of each branch is a hook dressed with a brightly colored or reflective material. When mackerel are present and biting, an angler jigging, trolling, or casting with such a rig can hook multiple fish simultaneously, resulting in exciting fight while also maximizing the amount of delicious meat brought home to the grill or smoker.

Numerous commercial mackerel trees are available for purchase, perhaps the most effective of which are the Sabiki rigs offered by Hayabusa. Effective as these rigs are, they are also relatively expensive at $5 to $6 each. While such a price tag may not seem excessive, snags and subsequent lost gear is inevitable when fishing from Maine’s rocky coastline. An angler can easily lose half a dozen rigs during the course of a season.

Being a person who prefers to spend effort rather than money, I decided to give building my own mackerel rigs a try. Here’s a breakdown of what I did.

Tools and Materials

• Fly tying vice (Cheap models will work)
• Fly tying bobbin
• Scissors
• Brightly colored thread
• Brightly colored hook dressing
• Superglue
• Size 4-6 corrosion resistant hooks
• Size 12 barrel and snap swivels
• 20-25 lb. test monofilament fishing line

The Easy Part: tying the flies

Step 1

After locking a hook into the vice, wind a base of thread onto the hook. Start just behind the eye and wind thread a third of the way to halfway down the shank. Add a few drops of superglue to the thread.

Step 2

Attach the dressing material to the hook by winding thread over the hook and dressing a few times. For dressing, I’ve been using florescent pink and florescent green spawn netting for no other reason than I was able to obtain packages for $1 each at a local salvage and surplus store. Any bright or shiny material (such as florescent yarn) will likely work as mackerel are not a particularly fussy fish. Use whatever is cheap and available.

Step 3

The details of this step will vary depending upon what dressing material is being used. I attached a square of spawn netting to the hook by a corner and then twisted the netting into a cord. I then wound that cord around the hook’s shank in a spiral pattern toward the eye. Approximately 1/8-inch behind the hook’s eye, I secured the material.

Step 4

To create a “wing” I simply bent the excess dressing material back toward the bend of the hook and secured it in place with a few wraps of thread. I then trimmed off excess material.

Step 5

Finish the fly by wrapping enough thread just behind the hook’s eye to firmly secure the material in place. This creates something of a “head”. To ensure the thread does not unravel during fishing, saturate the “head” with superglue. Allow all glue to dry before attempting to remove the fly from the vice.

While there is a slight learning curve to tying even the basic fly needed for a mackerel rig, with a little practice a finished fly can be produced in 5 to 10 minutes.

The Hard Part: Completing the Rig

This is the part of the project that gave me the most trouble. This is likely due to the fact that I never had the patience to learn more than a few basic knots that I use for pretty much everything. Still, I ultimately came up with a system that mostly works.

Step 1

Cut a piece of monofilament approximately 3 feet in length. This will act as the “trunk” of the mackerel tree. Also cut 4 additional pieces of line, each one about 8-inches in length. These shorter lengths of line will become the “branches” of the mackerel tree.

Step 2

Tie the “branch” line across the “trunk” and knot securely in place. A knot must also be made in the “trunk” line or the branch will slide out of position. Repeat this step with the other branches, spacing them 4 to 6 inches apart.

Step 3

Trim off excess line as necessary and affix a fly to each branch. Branches should ultimately be between 2 and 3 inches in length.

Step 4

Securely affix a barrel swivel to the “trunk” 4-6 inches above the first fly. Securely affix a snap swivel to the “trunk” 4-6 inches below the last fly. The rig is now complete.

The overall length of the rig as well as the number of hooks on a rig can be modified to suit individual preference. I have found that rigs that have more than four hook and are longer than 24-inches in length are ungainly when casting and more prone to tangle.

Does it work?

Making a quick and cheap fishing rig is a good way to kill a little time, but unless it actually catches fish, it is little more than a colorful decoration.

To put my rig to the test, I made an evening trip to the Schoodic Peninsula in eastern Maine to fish an incoming evening tide. The fishing was a little on the slow side as the mackerel had not yet arrived en masse in the region.

However, I did hook and land two of the small pollock (often called harbor pollock) that inhabit Maine’s near-shore coast more or less year round. This was encouraging. My experience has been that any rig or lure that will catch Pollock will also catch mackerel. Additionally, a wonderful feeling results when a DIY project results in something other than abject and comedic failure.

A small pollock that fell for a DIY mackerel rig during a recent fishing trip.

As I expected, A few hours into my fishing trip, I allowed my rig to get a little too close to the bottom where the sinker promptly wedged itself into the rocks. I had no choice but to break the line and surrender the homemade rig to the ocean. With less than a dollar in materials and a half hour of time invested into the project, such a loss was a minor defeat at the most.

The fishing was slow, but the scenery was awesome.