Which are the best traces for feathering up mackerel?
It’s the million dollar question, but with so many different types of trace on the market, and with so many different places to fish, it’s impossible to say which is best. However, here are a few things to consider when buying new mackerel traces.
How many hooks do I need?
You can get traces with up to about ten hooks on – but that’s just insane. Just think about it, you could end up with more than enough fish for tea, for your next few sessions AND for your neighbour’s cat after just one cast. Where’s the fun in that? 3 hooks are ample. More hooks just mean more chance of snagging on stuff, more time spent untangling them and stowing them, and more chance of a session turning into a slaughter.
TIP: If for some reason you want a certain type of trace but it has loads of hooks on, or you can only get hold of a trace with loads of hooks on, it is always possible to cut it in half or into 3 and make several traces out of one.
What size hook should I use?
The smaller, the better. Big hooks don’t mean bigger or more fish. Small hooks make it a bit more fiddly to remove the mackerel from, and you have to watch your pinkies a little more, but your catch rate will definitely improve – and possibly land you a rogue launce, garfish, or sand eel in the process!
Which is the best style/colour of lure for catching mackerel?
On mackerel traces, each hook will have some kind of attractor/lure whipped to it. These attractors can be anything from a kind of plasticized tin foil, to rubber/jelly shrimps or eels or fish, to cotton-thick strips of ‘tinsel’, to feathers – all in every colour you can care to think of and even glow-in-the-dark. When it comes to choosing trace styles and colours, the best tip is to hedge your bets: Don’t bother with anything too fancy (read: expensive) unless you KNOW it works in your area and, if you buy a few traces, always buy a variety of styles/colours. Then if you notice a certain type of attractor is really doing the business, you may just have one of them in your bag. As well as the normal feather, foil and tinsel traces, others such as Sabikis (uber-small hooks on these babies), Shrimp Rigs and Hokeyes are quite popular.
As a general rule, light coloured sparkly ones are more productive on bright sunny days and darker verions work better on dull or overcast days. Also, through trial and error I know that (from South Devon marks, at least) these little pinkie-red ones on the SWSF scratching rig are shit hot come rain or shine.The other beauty of these is are the hook size, nice and small size 4's.
How much lead will I need?
It may sound obvious, but match the lead to the conditions. With an onshore wind, for example, you’ll need more weight to cut through it when casting. With less wind, drop the weight to something more suitable. On most days, somewhere between 3oz to 6oz should be ample. Its also said that creating small nicks in your lead can help improve your catch rate - the nicks apparently create turbulence and tiny bubbles which help to excite and attract the mackerel.
TIP: Using an American snap swivel at the bottom of each mackerel trace will make it much easier (and quicker) to chop and change weights as required.
As mentioned above, also consider the strength of the trace itself. If you only have traces with a pansy-ass breaking strain, unless you want to start airmailing leads toward fellow anglers, you’ll have to go easy on the lead, whatever the conditions.
Successful feathering hinges on three things: Gear, technique, and (like all fishing) a spot of luck. We can’t help you with the luck, but parts 1 & 2 hopefully shed some light on gear and tackle considerations and the final part offers a few pointers on technique to improve your catch rate.
How to Feather for Mackerel – Fishing Gear
