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Seems to change from year to year. Last year they could be found all summer. The year before they were here for 2-3 weeks. Usually the blue fish move in and push them north and last year was not a good bluefish year
Seems to change from year to year. Last year they could be found all summer. The year before they were here for 2-3 weeks. Usually the blue fish move in and push them north and last year was not a good bluefish year
I echo this. Looking back quite a few years, the typical year has them show up in late spring and be generally available until the Bluefish show up to scatter them. They also seem to migrate up the coast. When they are not in MA they may be available in ME. I've seen them thick in the Bar Harbor area in July when they were nowhere to be found in my home waters. They tend to show up again in the fall, in the tinker size, sometimes in huge schools on the surface.
Last year's pattern was very unusual. People in my area were using live Macs to stripers and tuna all summer. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2010.
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Newburyport, MA
Eastern 35 FB
Door#3
Mid April to Mid June. Like most said the blues and dogfishand warm water usualy push them out of CCB by mid June. Alot of times they can be found offshore out on and around the bank before and after they show inshore.
No need to look in deep water they can be found all along the coast in 50' anywere in the bay. I get them from outside Barstable, to outside the ditch up to plymouth and green harbor. Thay can be had all the way up to Maine.
Chum helps alot. But once the dogfish show up toward the end of the run chum will bring the dogs quicker then the macks and the dogs will keep the macks away.
We were STILL catching tinker (super for the stripers) macks with sabiki rigs and a matchhead of clam on the hook, out the mouth of the Piscataqua River and between the first two red cans. And this was occurring in late August!! We used a chumbag, anchored in 40' water, and got no dogfish at all, though they were definately around us. Live with the balloons is the way to fish those lively little tinkers, but even with the bigger macks, chunks work for every fish offshore, and strips work well for everyfish in the rivers and flats.
This year from May on, we'll spend a day a month fishing them, and get all the chum and chunk bait we'll need for the summer.
My dog also prefers mackeral over salmon and trout. Must be the oils.
Sabiki rig or mackeral rig with a diamond jig for weight. You want enough weight to keep the rig vertical in the water. When you find the depth the fish are at and get one on, leave it there for a few seconds to get multi fish on one rig. Also if you are not fishing alone try to keep one rig with fish on in the water at all times. This will hwelp to keep the fish around and biteing.
you need a ROUND livebait barrel with a constant exchange of saltwater to keep macks alive for any time. They'll die quickly in a rectangular tank even if it is aerated. I use a 30 gallon white barrel. My feeder comes from a pump that pulls in fresh saltwater and feed from near the top of the barrel. About 1/3 of the way down from the filler is my discharge hose, so once all the new water going in reaches 2/3 of the barrel's capacity, it reaches the discharge and drains out. I also use a small net to pick them out of my barrel, as its easier on the fish and keeps my hands dry in cold weather.
Mackeral? 
any ground up fish or fish parts will work. 
