Mackerel Strip
Fresh or frozen mackerel flesh cut into strips — a tough, oily, widely available bait for predatory and bottom-feeding species.
Mackerel strip is the most universally available sea bait in Ireland. Fresh mackerel are common off most coasts from early summer through autumn, and frozen mackerel is stocked in virtually every tackle shop year-round. An oily, tough, highly scented bait, mackerel strip is effective for an enormous range of predatory and bottom-feeding species.
Catching Your Own Mackerel
From June to September, mackerel move inshore in large shoals and can be caught easily from piers, headlands, and open boats using a feather rig (a string of small artificial lures). A set of mackerel feathers on a 20–40 g metal pirk, wound in fast, will routinely produce multiple fish per cast when a shoal is present.
Mackerel caught fresh and used immediately as bait are superior to any frozen alternative. The flesh is firmer, oilier, and releases more scent. On productive days, catching mackerel for bait at the start of a session and then switching to bottom fishing with the fresh bait is a highly practical approach.
Preparing Mackerel Strip
Lay the mackerel on a flat surface and cut a long, thin strip from the flank — run the knife along the backbone from head to tail, then cut the strip to the desired width (roughly 1–2 cm). Leave the silver-blue skin intact on one side: the skin is tough and holds the hook securely, while the flesh side releases scent into the water.
For a flapper bait (used for conger and larger species), cut a larger section of the flank or back with the skin on and score it lightly to release more scent.
For a mackerel head or mackerel tail bait, these sections can be used whole on large hooks — effective for conger and large rays.
Hooking Mackerel Strip
Thread the hook through the skin at the top of the strip, pushing the hook point through skin to flesh. The bait should hang straight down from the hook. A well-cut strip has a natural flutter in the tide that attracts fish. Bait elastic is not normally needed for mackerel strip as the skin holds well, but it can be used to secure larger or flapper baits.
Storage
Fresh mackerel can be kept on ice in a cool box for up to two days. Mackerel deteriorates quickly in warm conditions — keep it cool and discard any bait that has gone soft or discoloured. Frozen mackerel should be defrosted slowly in the fridge and used within a day of defrosting.
Effective Species
- Conger eel — mackerel is one of the top conger baits; use a large flapper or a half-mackerel on a big hook from deep rocky marks and piers
- Dogfish (lesser spotted dogfish and bull huss) — will take mackerel strip readily on any bottom rig
- Thornback ray and other ray species — mackerel strip on a paternoster or running ledger from sandy or mixed ground
- Codling — autumn and winter; mackerel strip combined with lugworm (“cocktail bait”) can be particularly effective
- Bass — fresh mackerel strip is a reliable bass bait, especially from rocky marks
- Ling — mackerel is the standard bait for ling from rocky offshore ground and deep pier marks
- Tope — a large mackerel flapper or whole small mackerel is a standard tope bait
Mackerel strip is the go-to standby bait when nothing else is available, and on its day it can outfishmore specialised baits. Every sea angler should know how to prepare and use it.