Mackerel besides Jap
Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Newbies Corner
Forum Description: If you're new to fishing this is the place to ask any questions about getting started ...
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=115929
Printed Date: 30 Jan 2026 at 3:57am
Topic: Mackerel besides Jap
Posted By: Tortise01
Subject: Mackerel besides Jap
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 3:38am
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I see the chaps in Aus get King Mackerel. In South Africa the Lesser Barred Mackerel (Cuda) is seasonal. My question to you guys, besides Jap Mackerel, do you guys also catch a species of the King/Spanish Mackerel in Kiwi waters? |
Replies:
Posted By: jakepitsville
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 7:57am
| No just bait mackerel |
Posted By: PIG HUNTER
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 8:02am
| I'm sure I've caught Spanish makeral down here in opunake in late summer when snapper fishing.atleast that's what I been told it was. |
Posted By: macka2012
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 8:05am
| I got Spanish Mackerel in the Bay of Islands. They do exist down here. |
Posted By: herby
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 8:17am
| Photos macka? I'd bet you caught slimy macks, not spanish |
Posted By: krow
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 7:29pm
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I've caught Jack macs that are absolute horses. Look the same but are on steroids. Are these a different sub species? I'll get some photos next time before sending them to the depths with bling attached. |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 8:26pm
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I am no expert and Herby is more qualified to comment but the mackeral we have here (as far as I know) are Jack mackeral (yellowtail mackeral) slimy mackeral (English or blue mackeral) Koheru (not a mackeral???) and Chilean Jack mackeral (again not sure). Spanish mackeral look superficially like Spanish mackeral although I have never seen one in real life. ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: Catchelot
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 8:48pm
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Lethal has pics, but as a general rule, mackerel include the; slimy, blue, english (have caught up to 7lb) ...where as Jack, Yellowtail, Horse and perhaps south americans are quite different. Then we have Koheru, blue and yellow... |
Posted By: macka2012
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 8:51pm
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herby wrote:Posted By: toasta
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 9:00pm
| Yep a slimey |
Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 9:09pm
| Great sashimi, livebait or cut bait. |
Posted By: macka2012
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 9:15pm
| Ah ok. Never trust mates haha. |
Posted By: Muppet
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 9:23pm
| Spanish Macks look like Wahoo and have teeth that are razor sharp. |
Posted By: Tortise01
Date Posted: 15 Feb 2016 at 9:51pm
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Thanks for the replies guys. Macka, i know that as a Mackerel. As Muppet says, great bait and awesome to eat. The Barred Mackeral (Cuda) caught in SA get up to 34kg. There are many different species of Mackerel starting from that slimey, up to the Queen and King Mackeral. |
Posted By: FishMan
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2016 at 6:02am
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The great confusion comes from the word 'mackerel' being used a lot in different fish names, sometimes for completely unrelated fish. Thus: Slimy mackerel are part of the tuna family (Scombridae) but are completed unrelated to jack mackerel (trevally/kingfish family - Carangidae). Both are small species that never get much longer than 60cms, and while the slimy mackerel is related to the completely foreign Spanish mackerel by being in the same family (Scombridae) it is not in the same genus (Scomberomorus). Indeed the Scomberomorus type mackerels (long bodies, stripes or dots on side, razor sharp shearing teeth) have never been found in New Zealand (wahoo are a different genus again). Just to complicate matters- frigate tuna (with a distinct mackerel pattern on their sides) are occasionally found in New Zealand and mackerel tuna (looks like a large frigate tuna) could be. Confusing? Yes. |
Posted By: Jaapie
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2016 at 11:06am
Great info Craig. Spot on. In South Africa the 'Couta (not Cuda) as per original post is the same species as the Aussie Spaniard or narrow barred mackerel - Scomberomerus Commersoni In Mozambique and parts of Asia it's also called Tanguigue. The Cuda, Barracouta, Barracuda opens up a whole new can of worms totally unrelated to the mackerel thread. ------------- "Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught,will we realize that we cannot eat money" - 19th Century Indian Creed |
Posted By: smudge
Date Posted: 16 Feb 2016 at 10:48pm
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Thanks Craig! ------------- Best gurnard fisherman in my street |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2016 at 4:24pm
Blue mackerel are great to eat. Juveniles are caught amongst schools of Jack mackerel. Frigate mackerel are caught at times on skippy lures. They look very similar to skippies but have a similar pattern as blue mackerel. ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: hookerpuka
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2016 at 5:42pm
| Does the Mako count as a Mackerel member :D |
Posted By: Tortise01
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2016 at 6:08pm
Hey Jaapie. "Cuda" is what All the Durban fisherman affectionately call the Narrow Barred Mackerel. To digress, only confusion is to spell it "Cuda" or "Cuta". I have never seen it spelled "Couta" although the prinounciation is as you have spelled it. The word in way way refers to a Barracuda what so ever and as you correctly state, that is a completely different topic. |
Posted By: Lethal
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2016 at 3:19am
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Hi Tortise01 NZ Jack mackerel Commercial catch on average 60,000 Tonne, made up of 3 species we hardly see near the shore. these are really CHILEAN JACK MACKEREL yes they used to come down the East coast in their 10s of millions, Schools out from the 3Kings used to stretch out 10miles or more, god now how wide but the day we had them around us on a flat calm day we had drifted all night and could not see land in any direction yet we had miles of these huge jack mackerel 60cm around us with no gaps just solid fish till we neared the Kings again, then we hook marlin at that point, other names "Greenback" "Horse Mackerel" Trachurus declivis:  The Peruvian jack horse mackerel or Southern jack mackerel (Trachurus murphyi ) is almost identical in appearance to the Greenback horse mackerel (T. declivis )  Assie also catch these fish with that massive Com boat which the Rec boys are fighting tooth and nail to stop plundering these Mackerel,  so what is the point? all the above mackerel really mean very little to us, we very rarely catch them nowadays anyway, the ones below is what we mainly catch on our sabiki rigs for catching bigger fish, with a few larger ones thrown in. so keep calling these Yellowtail Mackerel or Jack Mackerel like most Kiwis do then everyone will know what your talking about, yes there is a heap of confusion out there.  |
Posted By: Fishb8
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2016 at 6:14am
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Haven't seen those Chilean mackerel for about 10 years. Mackerel make up 56% of NZ's fish exports and much goes to middle east. ------------- Be yourself; everyone else is already taken |
Posted By: 064pointbreak
Date Posted: 22 Feb 2024 at 1:55pm
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More tropical fish are arriving in New Zealand due to global warming. This includes giant manta rays, spearfish and whale sharks. But if Spanish Mackerel are on the list, it might change the New Zealand gamefishing world due to their sharp teeth! We might see wire traces, unrigged or prerigged in the gamefishing section in the tackle stores |
Posted By: MB
Date Posted: 23 Feb 2024 at 12:17pm
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Good thread resurrection. FishMan's post are always valuable. Nice to read something from someone who knows what they are talking about rather than the bull**** on Facebook. Jack mackerel (yellowtail horse mackerel) aren't true mackerels. They are scads or "horse mackerels". More closely related to trevally than mackerels. Considered inedible in some countries, loved in others!
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