camillj Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) OK .. call me crazy .. but when I went into the local grocery store the frozen whole Herring where about a foot long .. and I was just not happy with them .. but the 6 inch whole frozen (portugese) mackerel looked awesome .. just wondering if anyone has tried em for lakers (or pike) ... I know they will be good and greasy Edited January 28, 2011 by camillj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 They'd be great for spring pike. How much were they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camillj Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I think I paid 3 bucks for about a dozen ... seemed cheap to me .. but they were whole and looked goood enough to eat so i bought em for my boyz weekend ... figured we could each lay a biggun down on the bottom while messing with rainbow shiners on the other line Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_Brown Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 They work great. I have caught big pike, lakers, smallmouth, walleye and catfish on mackerel. Most big fish are scavengers to one degree or another. Big easy meal with little work = growth. It will look like an oil slick in your hole but they certainly are worth trying. Interesting to see the size of fish that will attempt to eat a whole mackerel. We don't use the little ones for pike. I have tried bait up to 18 inches and still caught fish. Just don't tell anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillM Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) I think I paid 3 bucks for about a dozen ... seemed cheap to me .. but they were whole and looked goood enough to eat so i bought em for my boyz weekend ... figured we could each lay a biggun down on the bottom while messing with rainbow shiners on the other line Wow man, that's not bad at all. Edited January 28, 2011 by BillM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawk-eye Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 I myself have never tried them but I do have a friend who uses them for Bowfin with much success Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limeyangler Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 They absolutely work for pike. Pike anglers in Europe ofetn use mackerel...like you say...an oily fish. I used to catch them by the hundreds sea fishing in the uk. What did not freeze for sea fishing bait or use for my BBQ i gave to a friend who fished for pike in the Exeter Canal in the UK. Check any pike fishing forum in Uk and search for 'mackerel' and you'll see all you need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottombouncer Posted January 28, 2011 Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 (edited) i think its funny that i keep reading the same things over and over again......this is thread number 3 about the same thing,in less then as many weeks or days even....and why werent you happy with the 12" herring? they work well too.i use frozen mackerel,sardines,ciscoes and giant creek chubs or suckers all with success.yes,the oily the better! but trust me,fish can sniff out any dead bait in there area or hunting grounds..and the bigger the profile of the bait,the more chances you have of a pike seeing it in the distance.using big dead baits,you decrease or eliminate all those pesky hammer handles,which can piss you right off by stripping your 6" baits all day! Edited January 28, 2011 by bottombouncer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camillj Posted January 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2011 i think its funny that i keep reading the same things over and over again......this is thread number 3 about the same thing,in less then as many weeks or days even....and why werent you happy with the 12" herring? they work well too.i use frozen mackerel,sardines,ciscoes and giant creek chubs or suckers all with success.yes,the oily the better! but trust me,fish can sniff out any dead bait in there area or hunting grounds..and the bigger the profile of the bait,the more chances you have of a pike seeing it in the distance.using big dead baits,you decrease or eliminate all those pesky hammer handles,which can piss you right off by stripping your 6" baits all day! Thanks BB .. I saw a couple posts about Herring but this was the first about mackerel ... I am really targeting Lakers more than Pike ... I KNOW pike will eat anything (practically) ... but am glad to hear folks have had luck on lakers too ... I felt the 12" Herring were little TOO big for the lakers I chase .. and the one thing I have learnt over my 45+ years on the water .. is that you have to have confidence in your bait or you wont catch fish (its probably a Karma thing) Anyhow .. I will leave those baby's on bottom with full confidence now .. and report back in a couple weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottombouncer Posted January 29, 2011 Report Share Posted January 29, 2011 i would agree totally! with out confidence,your bait is really nothing.i can remember when i was experimenting with baits,i finally found one i liked.when i went back to get more,they were sold out and i had to use something completely different.i lost patients,kept moving them around and even cancelled a day out because i didnt have confidence in what i had..funny thing is,after i found my go to again.i gave my sub-par choice to a buddy and they worked well for him and hes been using them since,lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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