Overview
Spotted mackerel migrate down the east coast in summer, following anchovy and whitebait schools and stacking up around known headlands and shoals.
They travel in large, fast schools and can be caught in numbers when the timing is right — then vanish for weeks.
Light wire or heavy fluorocarbon is a constant compromise: wire costs bites, fluorocarbon costs lures.
Where to find them
- ▸Shoals and bommies in 10–25 m with clean blue water.
- ▸Bait schools working the surface off open beaches.
- ▸Cape and headland pressure points on a run-out tide.
- ▸Around anchored berley trails in Moreton Bay and Hervey Bay.
Tackle
- ▸Rod: 7' spin rated 6–10 kg.
- ▸Line: 20 lb braid with 40–50 lb fluorocarbon or a short single-strand wire trace.
- ▸Lures: 20–40 g chrome slugs; unweighted pilchard on gang hooks in a berley trail.
Tips from the water
- ▸Keep a steady berley trail of chopped pilchard to hold the school.
- ▸Retrieve slugs as fast as you can wind.
- ▸Do not bother with heavy wire — 50 lb fluoro gets far more bites.
Regulations
Size, bag and possession limits differ between states and can change each season. Check the current rules with your state fisheries authority before keeping a fish.