Tactics and Flies: Fly Fishing for Mackerel

Fly fishing for mackerel comes with a funny feeling; as if something is a bit off. Warm and sunny days are to be preferred - the hotter the better; quite often you will be hooking the fish just a meter or two from the rod tip; and the fish usually attack the fly with an almost daft vigor. Basically, mackerel act the opposite way of most other coastal saltwater fish. But it just makes them more accessible and fun to catch!

By: ILIAS KARANZAS

Fly fishing for mackerel isn’t exactly hard work. It’s easy, so easy in fact that during the right conditions you can hook and land over a 100 fish in an afternoon. They patrol the edges between the shallows and the deep water constantly searching for their next meal, so casting from a good vantage point near a drop off will eventually result in fish.

My way of approaching mackerel is quite relaxed. I live 5 minutes from the sea and mackerel have been a part of my life since I was a small child. I tend to fish for them a bit differently than most people. I use the same kind of equipment; 7-weight rods, 7 - 9 foot leaders and small baitfish and shrimps flies. It’s my attitude towards these fish that differs. You can catch mackerel all day long if you want to, but I prefer waiting: Waiting for the conditions to be just right for the hectic close encounters with hectically feeding schools of fish.

First, you need to locate a spot where baitfish are present along the shoreline. Secondly, you need to arm yourself with patience. The schools of mackerel restlessly patrol the shorelines during the summer months, and they’ll show up eventually. They’re always on the move - and once they find the baitfish, they go into a sudden feeding frenzy of epic proportions.

Suddenly there will be mackerel everywhere charging at everything that looks edible. Just imagine, tens of thousands of fish in a collective mass psychosis making the surface boil. That’s what awaits you.

What I do is: I sit down with a Coke in my hand – up on a cliff, fly rod by my side, line and leader pulled out and prepared, with my ears tensely waiting for that unmistakable sound that makes my heartbeat go from slow to fast in a millisecond: The boiling sound of mackerel going nuts on the surface still, to this day, makes my adrenaline rush.

It starts with the panicky sounds of baitfish fleeing on the surface, gradually more and more of them, until the sound of thunder starts to build.

By then, I’ll be up on my feet, eyes flickering across the water surface with my fly rod in a clenched grip. From my vantage point I’ll spot the fish some three hundred meters further up the shore slowly coming towards me.

The trick then is to fish the edges of the boil – not the middle as it will just result in foul-hooked fish. Fishing the edges, you’ll get the reaction and contact you’re looking for.

As the fish get closer, I place my first cast. It’s some 15 meters in front of the fish, but I immediately start stripping the fly back at a great pace. I quickly hook and land one of the front-runners, 2 minutes later the whole school is upon me and I’ve already landed and released five fish.

Fishing along the edges of the frenzy I land another five fish before the school slowly dissipates. I then manage another four fish that are idling around in the area waiting to catch up with the school. I keep one of them and then I sit back down once again, start a small fire out of driftwood, and smoke my freshly caught quarry in the fire letting the smoke, the salt, and some wet seaweeds provide some extra taste to this gift from Mother Nature.

I enjoy the rest of my Coke while eating my dinner up on the cliffs along the Swedish Westcoast. In the distance, I hear the sound of panicky baitfish fleeing for their life, and the sound is getting louder. My rod and line are laid out on the cliff right beside me. I’m prepared!

MAKRILL FLUGAN

Hook: Wide gape saltwater hook #4-8

Tying Thread: White

Tail: Orange polar fox

Body: Orange polar fox fur

Wing: Grizzly saddle, white, chartreuse, blue and black bucktail, Crystal Flash

Eyes: 3D Eyes

Head: UV glue