Winter mackerel! The Good ol Days!

[Tuna Tales]

Agree with Dan on the NJ Bluefins...

Perhaps the overall size was much larger in the 1970s and 1980s. However I feel there are many more Bluefins today. A trip in CNJ around the 3rd week of November - I saw hundreds of big bluefins (200 to 400 lb class) jumping all over the place around 8 to 10 miles offshore. Trolling was working but jig and pop can be tough for those.


Joe T.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by Tuna Tales

Agree with Dan on the NJ Bluefins...

Perhaps the overall size was much larger in the 1970s and 1980s. However I feel there are many more Bluefins today. A trip in CNJ around the 3rd week of November - I saw hundreds of big bluefins (200 to 400 lb class) jumping all over the place around 8 to 10 miles offshore. Trolling was working but jig and pop can be tough for those.


Joe T.

Was ALOT of fish caught bigger than 400 .
Had friends with commercial permits selling fish that were 700 gutted and headless

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

Bob you honestly have NO IDEA what’s going on here with our fisheries currently .
Everytime you post many of us laugh , as we are on the water daily , and you haven’t fished here in what decades ?
The amount of giants staying in our waters for approximately 9 months out of the year hasn’t happened before .
Sure there were bluefin here , but not GIANTS in the sheer numbers being seen .

Just like your blackfish posts , about no way the bite would improve in colder water .
Yet if you actually followed the reports here (because you definitely were not fishing for them ) you would have seen when the water hit 50 the blackfish were chewing their heads off .

What happened here in the 80’s isn’t what’s going on here 45 years later .
Lots of guys here who are actually fishing ALOT, and see daily what’s going on .

OK, got it.. The Bluefin Tuna are eating all the Atlantic Mackerel and Bluefish.. That they never ate, years ago, when all these fish were super abundant.. Thanks for correcting me on that fact.. also thanks for the enlightenment on how GREAT blackfishing is these days, when the water drops down to 40... I see you posted where tog bite like mad when water hits 50... I agree.. I never said they didn't.. I always asserted on these pages that blackfish started shutting down as water dropped into the 40's and below, which leaves december and january out as ""blackfish weather". They can be caught of course in deep water snags and wrecks where they are concentrated, Most guys don't have the capability to fish that way. We can catch sea bass too 90 miles out and its great fishing,, Doesn't mean January is the best time to fish for them..

You can think what you like, but many here have NO idea what fishing was 40-50 years ago because they haven't even reached that age yet.. You might be a "pro" thats out on the water daily. Terrific, you are living a dream I wish I could have attained. Yet long years of experience at another time is also of value. I lived at the NJ shore for years, and like you was on the water day to day. The waters were alive with all kinds of fish in all seasons. Sharks were everywhere, inshore and offshore, unlike today. The massive predators were there, as were the small prey fish. Yes even a 15 pound Blue is prey to a Bluefin.. I doubt the resurgent Bluefin population has very little to do with Atlantic Mackerel and Bluefish populations being so poor compared to decades ago.. Believe what you want, and I respect your pro status, honestly, however I maintain my belief that those populations were decimated by people netting them and people eating them, not by larger fish eating them.. Also, if you honestly think blackfishing is anywhere close to what it was at one time, I don't know what to say other than we'll have to agree to disagree... bob

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

OK, got it.. The Bluefin Tuna are eating all the Atlantic Mackerel and Bluefish.. That they never ate, years ago, when all these fish were super abundant.. Thanks for correcting me on that fact.. also thanks for the enlightenment on how GREAT blackfishing is these days, when the water drops down to 40... I see you posted where tog bite like mad when water hits 50... I agree.. I never said they didn't.. I always asserted on these pages that blackfish started shutting down as water dropped into the 40's and below, which leaves december and january out as ""blackfish weather". They can be caught of course in deep water snags and wrecks where they are concentrated, Most guys don't have the capability to fish that way. We can catch sea bass too 90 miles out and its great fishing,, Doesn't mean January is the best time to fish for them..

You can think what you like, but many here have NO idea what fishing was 40-50 years ago because they haven't even reached that age yet.. You might be a "pro" thats out on the water daily. Terrific, you are living a dream I wish I could have attained. Yet long years of experience at another time is also of value. I lived at the NJ shore for years, and like you was on the water day to day. The waters were alive with all kinds of fish in all seasons. Sharks were everywhere, inshore and offshore, unlike today. The massive predators were there, as were the small prey fish. Yes even a 15 pound Blue is prey to a Bluefin.. I doubt the resurgent Bluefin population has very little to do with Atlantic Mackerel and Bluefish populations being so poor compared to decades ago.. Believe what you want, and I respect your pro status, honestly, however I maintain my belief that those populations were decimated by people netting them and people eating them, not by larger fish eating them.. Also, if you honestly think blackfishing is anywhere close to what it was at one time, I don't know what to say other than we'll have to agree to disagree... bob

Black fishing isn’t close to what it was even 5 years ago .
Too much pressure . Too much short life poached for live fish market .
Guys fishing ridiculous light line and tackle , which creates released fish problems etc .fish are worn out . Many break offs with long lines still attached etc .
But the posts before were about water temps .and then not eating .
While they prefer 50-65 degrees they remain in shallower water spread out .
When temps approach 55 they get more concentrated on the fewer deep pieces .
More fish on a spot creates competition, which improves the bite .

Once waters get to low 40’s they still feed but no where near as often .

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

Black fishing isn’t close to what it was even 5 years ago .
Too much pressure . Too much short life poached for live fish market .
Guys fishing ridiculous light line and tackle , which creates released fish problems etc .fish are worn out . Many break offs with long lines still attached etc .
But the posts before were about water temps .and then not eating .
While they prefer 50-65 degrees they remain in shallower water spread out .
When temps approach 55 they get more concentrated on the fewer deep pieces .
More fish on a spot creates competition, which improves the bite .

Once waters get to low 40’s they still feed but no where near as often .

I see nothing here that I ever disagreed with.. I basically said the same thing. Fish that are concentrated are always easier to catch, even if 70% of them are "asleep"... I'll say it again, in my opinion seldom is a fish species decimated thoughout its range by the other species that are native in their habitat.. Usually there are other "actors" at play, typically human beings that either eat them , poison them, or destroy the places they live... bob

[Duffman]

So putting my .2 in.....

Back in the late 70's into the 80's my family would fish Macks for about 6 weeks. As kids we would call (yes, phone calls no text or internet) boats in VA MD and DE to see when they started to see the Macks. Once they hit Cape May we would travel south and fish outta Cape and Wildwood Crest.

When the run moved north we moved onto boats outta Mani and SRI. Never moving more than 2-3 miles off before finding the schools.

Then on to the Palace II from Hoboken and boats outta SHB to end the run,

We literally brought home close to, if not more than, 1,000 Macks in that time.

No light tackle. This was meat fishing. Heavy tackle and 6 teaser rigs. We would wrap 4 fish (uncleaned) in newspaper and freeze em.

NOT A SINGLE FISH WENT TO WASTE .......NOT ONE!!!!

The family had 4 boats at the time out of Little Egg, Mani, Highlands and South Hold NY.

Every fish was eaten (European Parents right off the boat) sliced and salted for fluke bait, chunked for blues, ground for chum and filleted for sharking.

Man I miss those days. damn im old!!!

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Duffman

So putting my .2 in.....

Back in the late 70's into the 80's my family would fish Macks for about 6 weeks. As kids we would call (yes, phone calls no text or internet) boats in VA MD and DE to see when they started to see the Macks. Once they hit Cape May we would travel south and fish outta Cape and Wildwood Crest.

When the run moved north we moved onto boats outta Mani and SRI. Never moving more than 2-3 miles off before finding the schools.

Then on to the Palace II from Hoboken and boats outta SHB to end the run,

We literally brought home close to, if not more than, 1,000 Macks in that time.

No light tackle. This was meat fishing. Heavy tackle and 6 teaser rigs. We would wrap 4 fish (uncleaned) in newspaper and freeze em.

NOT A SINGLE FISH WENT TO WASTE .......NOT ONE!!!!

The family had 4 boats at the time out of Little Egg, Mani, Highlands and South Hold NY.

Every fish was eaten (European Parents right off the boat) sliced and salted for fluke bait, chunked for blues, ground for chum and filleted for sharking.

Man I miss those days. damn im old!!!

yikes, all good on ya, eating all that Mackerel.. I guess if one really knows the ins and outs of how to prepare enjoy them in various ways, the way they do in Greece ,Spain ,and Italy they could be ok, but personally I would OD on them pretty quick.. I kind of liked them in a limited way, but eating that many??.. Not my bag...

anyway, I hope they return one day so younger anglers can enjoy what we did at one time...bob

[Duffman]

Originally Posted by bulletbob

yikes, all good on ya, eating all that Mackerel.. I guess if one really knows the ins and outs of how to prepare enjoy them in various ways, the way they do in Greece ,Spain ,and Italy they could be ok, but personally I would OD on them pretty quick.. I kind of liked them in a limited way, but eating that many??.. Not my bag...

anyway, I hope they return one day so younger anglers can enjoy what we did at one time...bob

read the post again......we didnt eat all of them .....reading comprehension is not your bag

as far as younger anglers? Very few fish or hunt anymore

[bulletbob]

Originally Posted by Duffman

read the post again......we didnt eat all of them .....reading comprehension is not your bag

as far as younger anglers? Very few fish or hunt anymore

no actually I comprehend quite well.. Even if you processed 2/3 of your catch for bait, according to the 1000 macks + or_ your family caught each year that means you still ate more than 300 Mackerel a year... Still quite a number for most people even those of us that will eat "fishy" tasting fish... Can't speak for NJ, but there are a LOT of young people here in NY state that fish and hunt.. They are everywhere up here, so many that many waters are now under ever increasing bag limits as numbers of white flesh pan fish are diminishing in even these giant lakes.. Perch , Rock Bass, Sunnies statewide are disappearing in places where they were once impossibly abundant,,, LOTS of pressure, and I assure you its not all old timers, depleting the stocks.....

[tautog]

Mackerel are staying north with the whiting. They get them all summer. They were even as far south as Orient Point last year. Only some scattered patches down here this fall and winter.