Mackerel

By Alex Clayton · Updated 23 October 2026

Mackerel are among the most commonly caught fish in UK sea angling, according to the Cefas Sea Angling 2018 and 2019 report. Yet for 2026, scientists advised a 70% cut in catches from the Northeast Atlantic stock.

This page is the angler’s guide to Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), a fast, shoaling fish that comes inshore around the UK in summer. Expect them from late spring to autumn, earlier in the south-west than the north. Most are caught on feathers, light lures or float tackle.

It covers identification, arrival times, finding and catching them, the rules, the state of the stock, and keeping them for the table or bait. For other species, see our UK sea fish species hub.

Mackerel at a Glance

The key mackerel facts for anglers, with sources.

Fact	Detail
Scientific name	Scomber scombrus (Atlantic mackerel)
Typical size	12 to 18 inches, about 1lb (0.45kg) (GWCT)
Growth and maturity	About 22cm after one year, 30cm after two; most mature by age three (Marine Directorate)
UK season	Roughly late spring to autumn; varies by region and year (see below)
Main methods	Feathers, light spinning, float with a fish strip
British shore record	5lb 11oz 14dr (2.603kg), M A Kemp, Berry Head Quarry, Brixham, 1982 (BRFC, June 2026)
Rod licence (England and Wales)	Not needed for sea fish (GOV.UK)
MCS rating, hook and line	3, lowered from 2 in April 2025 (reported; check the live Good Fish Guide)

Mackerel have no swim bladder, so they must keep swimming to pass water over their gills. That constant movement is one reason a shoal can be at your feet one minute and gone the next.

How to Identify a Mackerel (and Not Mistake It for Scad or Garfish)

Not every “mackerel” on a string of feathers is the common species. The British Record (rod caught) Fish Committee lists Atlantic chub mackerel (Scomber colias) as a separate species.

A common mackerel has:

A torpedo-shaped body
A green-blue back crossed with dark, wavy bars
A silver-white belly with no bars
Two dorsal fins set well apart
A row of small finlets near the tail, which is deeply forked

Three other fish turn up on the same marks and lures:

Fish	Quickest tell	Notes
Scad (horse mackerel)	A line of hard, bony scutes along the side and a large eye	No wavy bars on the back; not a true mackerel
Garfish	Long, thin, beak-like jaws	Takes the same lures and small float baits
Atlantic chub mackerel	Very similar shape and colour	A separate record species, so check carefully before any claim

If you are unsure, photograph the fish on a flat surface and compare it against our fish identification guide before you claim a record.

When Do Mackerel Arrive in the UK? Season by Region

Anglers report the first mackerel on the south-west coast from late April or May, around most of England and Wales by June, and in Scotland later in the summer. Timing varies from year to year.

Casting feathers in April into an empty sea is the classic early-season blank. Advice online conflicts, from “over by November” to fish off Cornwall in December, so use a regional range rather than a date.

Region	Usual first fish	Tails off
South-west England	Late April to May	Autumn; some fish into November or beyond
Most of England and Wales	By June	Autumn
Scotland	Later in summer	Autumn

Angler-reported and variable. No official arrival dataset exists.

Spawning biology helps explain the pattern. The Marine Directorate describes two spawning components. The western stock spawns from March to July south and west of the UK and Ireland, near the continental slope. The North Sea stock overwinters east and north of Shetland, then spawns in the central North Sea from May to July.

Timing also shifts over decades. The western stock’s autumn migration south through the Minch now happens later in the year and further offshore than it did in the 1970s and 1980s. The cause is not settled.

If the mackerel are not in yet, fish for bass or pollack instead and check local tackle shop reports. Plan around June to September as the dependable window, and treat anything outside it as a bonus that depends on where you live.

Where and When to Find Mackerel on the Day

A common cause of a blank is the same fast retrieve on every cast. It only fishes the top layer of water, while the shoal may be holding much deeper.

Mackerel are caught from harbours, piers, breakwaters, headlands and boats, usually wherever small baitfish gather. Diving birds and baitfish scattering at the surface are the clearest signs of a feeding shoal.

Angler experience, rather than studied data, points to the first and last couple of hours of daylight, and the two hours either side of high water from piers and harbours. Mackerel are sight feeders and are seldom caught after dark.

Use this routine to find them:

Cast and let the rig or lure sink, counting as it drops.
Start your retrieve roughly half way to the bottom.
Vary the retrieve speed on each cast to work different depths.
When you hook a fish, repeat that exact count and speed.
If nothing shows in about 10 minutes, move marks or switch species.

Best for anyone fishing a harbour or pier at dawn or dusk. Skip the long wait if the count-down has found nothing after 10 minutes.

How to Catch Mackerel: Feathers, Spinners and Float Tackle

Choose your mackerel method by what you want from the session: numbers, sport or selectivity. These are typical starting specs from UK angling advice, not fixed rules.

Method	Best for	Rod	Line	Weight or lure	Hook	Watch out for
Feathers	Numbers for bait or the table	9 to 12ft beach rod, or a boat rod	10 to 15lb mono or about 20lb braid	2 to 4oz lead	String of feathers, often on trebles	Tangles, hooked hands, poor for selective release
Light spinning	Sport and easier release	Casting about 50 to 60g, 4000 to 4500 reel	12lb mono, or braid with a fluorocarbon leader	Metal spinners, about 20 to 40g	Single hook	Slower for numbers
Float	Selective fishing from harbour walls	Over 10ft, to lift slack line	Light mono	White mackerel belly strip, squid or sandeel	Roughly size 2 to 1/0, point exposed	Depth needs frequent adjusting

Float hook size is where advice disagrees most. A 1/0 is often suggested, but some guides say a size 2 or 3 hooks more fish. The smaller hook also connects with garfish, which a 1/0 tends to miss.

To feather, cast, count the rig down and change depth until fish show, as in the routine above. Do not leave a string in the water waiting for every hook to fill. A heavy, thrashing string tangles badly and is hard to unhook safely.

Carry a disgorger, especially with trebles. If you plan to return fish, swap the trebles for single hooks before you start.

For beginners, feathers are the best start, because they catch fish while you learn to read the water. If you only want a couple of fish, or want to release them, skip feathers and go light spinning instead.

Mackerel Fishing Rules: Licences, Size Limits and Bag Limits

You do not need a rod licence to fish for mackerel in the sea in England or Wales. The GOV.UK rod licence covers salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt and eel, and does not mention sea fish.

Size and bag limits are set locally, where they exist:

Nation	Licence	Mackerel size or bag limit	Source
England	No rod licence for sea fish	No national limit found; Northumberland IFCA sets a 30cm minimum for North Sea mackerel	Northumberland IFCA
Wales	No rod licence for sea fish	No minimum sizes or bag limits for most sea species apart from bass	Fishing in Wales
Scotland	No licences for recreational fishing	No mackerel rules found; anglers must check the rules for the species they target	Scottish Government
Northern Ireland	Not covered here	Check with DAERA	DAERA

For context, mackerel reach about 30cm at two years old, when over half can first spawn (Marine Directorate). Bass rules are stricter and differ by area, so see the bass page for those.

Before your first session in England, check the byelaws of your local Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).

Is Mackerel Sustainable? The Stock in 2026 and 2027

Not comfortably. For 2026, ICES advised that catches of Northeast Atlantic mackerel should be no more than 174,357 tonnes, a 70% cut on its 2025 advice, after years of catches above the scientific recommendation (as reported by Fishing News).

Advice for 2027, published on 30 September 2026, more than doubled to no more than 352,938 tonnes. But the 2026 spawning stock sat at about 3.2 million tonnes, just above the 3.07 million tonne critical limit and below the 4.12 million tonne precautionary level (ICES advice, as reported by Baird Maritime). The advice does not set national quotas.

The Marine Conservation Society lowered hook and line mackerel from 2 to 3 in its Good Fish Guide in April 2025, still within its recommended range, and midwater trawl mackerel to 4, outside it (reported by Dive Magazine). Check the live Good Fish Guide for the current rating.

Catch advice covers the whole fishery, and the Cefas survey found UK sea anglers release around 80% of all the fish they catch. Hook and line still rates better than midwater trawl. Keep it that way by taking only what you will eat or use as bait.

Keeping Mackerel for the Table: Dispatch, Chill and Eat

A bucket of warm mackerel at the end of a sunny pier session is wasted fish. Mackerel need killing, gutting and chilling quickly, so decide how many you want before you cast.

Angling guides warn that mackerel handled by hand often die after release. Unhook unwanted fish in the water with a disgorger where you can.

For the fish you keep:

Kill each one promptly with a priest or by breaking the neck.
Bleed it by cutting through the gills.
Gut it as soon as possible.
Keep it in an ice-filled cool bag until you get home.

The NHS lists mackerel as an oily fish and recommends at least one portion of oily fish a week. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or may become pregnant, have no more than two portions a week.

For the next step, see how to fillet a fish. If you want four fish for supper, stop at four and switch to lures for sport.

Mackerel as Bait for Bass, Cod and Pollack

An hour on the feathers in July can supply bait for months.

Whole fish, fillets, belly strips and heads all work, and fresh is best, according to British Sea Fishing. Small slices also go into cocktail baits with squid or worm.

British Sea Fishing rates mackerel as a top bait for bass, tope, conger, rays and many other shore species. A mackerel strip is also a common bait when fishing for cod and pollack.

Summer fish can be frozen for later bait. The common complaint that mackerel freezes poorly concerns eating quality, and frozen fish still makes usable bait. Wrap fish individually or in session-sized portions so you only thaw what you need.

Typical advice: use fresh strip on a float, where the bait needs to flutter, and frozen on the bottom, where it matters less.

Frequently asked questions

What is the British record mackerel?

The British shore record is 5lb 11oz 14dr (2.603kg), caught by M A Kemp at Berry Head Quarry, Brixham, in 1982. The boat weight record of 6lb 2oz 7dr (2.790kg), W J Chapple, 1984, was frozen in June 2024. Boat claims are now by length (55cm qualifying), and shore length claims need 50cm.

Do you need a licence to fish for mackerel?

No. Sea fishing in England and Wales needs no rod licence, which covers salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt and eel. The Scottish Government says Scotland has no licences for recreational fishing. Check local byelaws and access permission.

How many mackerel can you keep?

No national limit was found for England. Wales has no limits for most sea species except bass. Northumberland IFCA sets a 30cm minimum size for North Sea mackerel, so check your local IFCA and take only what you will use.

Can you catch mackerel at night?

Rarely. Mackerel are sight feeders, so anglers report few catches after dark. Fish dawn, dusk and the hours around high water instead.

Are mackerel good to eat?

Yes. Mackerel is an oily fish, best eaten fresh after quick gutting and chilling. The NHS advises at least one portion of oily fish a week, and no more than two if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.