Mackerel species?

[bulletbob]

Does anyone know which species of mackerel is being commonly caught by the party boats the past few summers?.. I have seen some on these pages call them Chub mackerel, but I always thought Chub mackerel were quite small usually 9-10 inches or so, and some of the pics i see here show nice 14-15 inch fish..

Could these fish be Mackerel Scad?.. Those look a lot like Mackerel, but are actually Jacks related to Blue Runners and other jacks, and supposedly don't hit lures real well, preferring bait..

I recall years ago catching Tinkers which I have seen written as an alternate name for Chub Mackerel, but those were caught in cold water alongside big Boston mackerel, and I always thought they were just juveniles of that species..
I don't recall a summer fishery years ago for many smaller mackerel types, inshore, mainly Bonito,False Albacore, and a very few Spanish mackerel here and there.. The summer fishing has changed, and I guess I haven't kept up with what is actually out there these days... bob

[Capt Joe]

Remember killing those “chub” Mack’s in 30 feet of water off elberon in the 60’s any day all summer. Little bit of chum all u needed, same bigger ones they are catching now

[Capt. Lou]

Joes right we used to chum em & scoop em up for tunas !

[bulletbob]

Yes but the fish I saw pictured here several times from party boat reports didn't fit size wise really.. Chub Mackerel are pretty small with a 12 incher being a really big one.. A lot of the fish being caught on the party boats seemed more like 16-18 inches which is more in line with the size of Mackerel Scad which is a Jack, not a member of the Tuna family.

Another reason i thought the "mackerel" being caught were actually Scads was a few of the reports said the "mackerel" were being caught on bait mostly, while Blues and Bonito were hitting metals.. Jacks will hit lures but a lot of them are more readily caught on bait, but the smaller members of the Tuna Family are caught very readily on flashy metals and jigs.. Not biggie either way, I am just curious... bob

[Skolmann]

I was jigging chub mackerel (as well as bluefish & bonito) on small epoxy jigs this past Friday.