Mackeral Fishing / bait needed

[Tunateaser]

Hi Folks,

I am interested to know if there is a mackeral run off the south shore of Long Island and if so when should I start to target these fish? My intentions are to get mackeral for bait. My rig will be berthed at Jacksons marina out of Schinnicock.

Thanks Very Much, Dan

 

[blackdiamond296]

the mackerel run on the south shore for the last three to four years has been pretty much non-existent fishing out of Jones Inlet, you might get a better shot at them further to the east. Judging from the reports the last few years, the pattern seems to be that the schools skip from south jersey straight across to Montauk. The season is generally right around mothers day, maybe a week or two before. Keep an eye out for reports in the Fisherman and if you wanna go the extra mile, look in the jersey editions of the Fisherman in the spring and look for mackerel reports there- that'll give you a little early warning of when they might be headed your way.

 

[Tunateaser]

Hea BlackDiamond296

Thank You for your response. I have been a member of Mt. Sinai Yacht Club for many years and thus have fished the north shore almost exclusively. My buddy runs a 47 Viking out of Schinnicock and I join him on overnighters to the canyons on occaision. With the new Grady 265 I will be berthed at Jacksons marina in Schinnicock so I will need to learn the south shore waters. I have read some articals that folks catch the smaller Bluefin Tuna and in some cases YFT in closer than the canyons. Have you done any of this type of fishing? Are the techniques / Lures / time of year the same as trolling the canyons?

Thanks in Advance, Dan

 

[blackdiamond296]

Later in the summer (August and September mostly) you can definitely catch some schoolie tuna 20-30 miles out. I'm more of a shark fishing guy myself so I don't have a whole lot of detail for you, but small daisy chains, mini spreader bars, and feathers are the basics tools for inshore trolling.

If you're interested, I belong to a fishing club in the Jones Inlet area, we put on clinics throughout the year on everything from fluke and striped bass, to shark and tuna- some of the best guys on LI giving great offshore info! If you live out east it might be a little out of the way for you, but feel free to PM me if you'd like some more information.