Range: Throughout inlets and coves around Nova Scotia
Common caught Size: 16" - 24" (head to tail)
Eating Size: 14 Inches +
Record: Unknown
Bag Limit: Not classified as groundfish (No limits)
Season: No closed season. Can be caught inshore July - October

Appearance: A very firm, slender and strong fish, the Atlantic Mackeral is easily distinguishable from its speed and its brilliant green striped appearance. The green colours fade after removal from the water but the brilliant tiger stripes remain. An easy way to tell the freshness of a Mackeral is by the brilliance of the green along its back.

The Atlantic Mackeral is a fast swimming, pelagic,schooling species distributed in the Northwest Atlantic between Labrador and North Carolina. There are two major spawning componentsof this population: a southern group that spawns primarily in the Mid-Atlantic during April and May, and a northern group thatspawns in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in June and July.

This fish travels in large schools and 2 or more Mackerel can be taken from a single cast useing Mackeral feathers or multiple hooks.

Probably the single strongest fighting fish in Salt and fresh waters in/around Nova Scotia and its great tasting meat make the Mackeral a great all around sportsfish.

Angling: Finding mackerel is the necessary element in catching them. Anglers typically locate the fish on sonar equipment or by observing slicks on the surface; when this fails, private boats follow charter and party boats (which do a brisk business in mackerel fishing when this species is available), and otherwise look for clusters of boat activity. Most fishing occurs in near-shore environs or in large bays.

A good deal of mackerel fishing is done with a rig that consists of several hooked "feathers" attached at 1-foot intervals to a main leader and weighted with a heavy (3- or 4-ounce) lead jig. Because mackerel are midwater to surface fish, it's important to present the baits at the right level. Most anglers find this level by dropping their rig to the bottom, then slowly working it back up in increments, pausing and jigging as they do this. Once they catch fish, they return their rig to the same level. When the fish are not too deep, jigs and flies are also effective, and sometimes chum is used to attract and hold the fish near the boat.

While casting for Mackeral from shore/wharves the depth the schools are located at becomes very important. An easy way to test different depths is to cast your rig as far out as possible, and count out seconds. Start at 2-3 and allow for 5-6 casts per depth. Repeat this procedure while incrementing the sink time by a second. Once you hook into a fish at a certain depth you can be pretty much assured of fish at that depth. I dont know how many times Ive caught fish after fish one a wharf full of people not catching a thing because I knew what depth the fish were at.

Timing is also becomes very important when fishing as Mackeral tend to travel in large schools, usually doing regular "circuits" around the bays and inlets. If in a group its perfectly acceptable to wait until somone else brings in a fish, then do a few rapid casts. Of course, this method can get boring relatively quick.