Mackerel

The mackerel have been running for a couple of months now but, with the weather so indifferent, we've not been out after them. Today, however, provided a perfect opportunity, with a spring tide low around midday - the mackerel come on best on a rising tide - light winds and a sea with little more than a chop on it. However, we like to make mackerel fishing a little difficult, so we do it from kayaks. Ben, above, started by spinning with a rod....

....but the traditional mackerel line proved more effective.

It's exciting work, with enough bounce on the water to have to keep one's balance; and with two hands needed for the job, the paddle - without which one goes nowhere - keeps wanting to slide overboard. We fish with four hooks, but that is more than enough when the line comes up with all of them occupied.

Here's a picture of a happy man showing off his first mackerel caught from a kayak, one of which was a really nice fish. In general, we try to return small fish but some of them are so damaged it's kinder to kill them.

We landed a total of fifteen mackerel, enough for two meals for the humans and more for our cats, who love a bit of fish for supper.

Many thanks to Rachael for the pictures.