# Mackerel Advice - Do you use wire?



## Swamp (Nov 20, 2007)

In the past i have caught all my mackerel without wire biggest being a 1m spanish. Infact Friday night i was telling a mate how i hadn't been bitten off by a mackerel. Last trip i caught 2 small school mackerel on a 30 halco twisty with 1m of 40lb mono leader. So of course saturday i cast the same setup at slightly bigger mackerel and get bitten off instantly!
I have also been in a similar situation with a short wire trace and not been able to get a bite.
My brothers classic story is the 1.5m mackerel cruising the boat. He casts his lure at it and it east the lure and the whole 30cm wire trace!

The question is to use wire or not to use wire?
If so what sort of wire? how long and how do you connect it to the lure and the main line?


----------



## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

I use mono wire, around 15cm. If I don't get any bites for a period of time I may remove it especially if just using some gang hooks and a smelly pilly. You definately get more bites without wire, but you will also definately lose lures.


----------



## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

It depends on the lure. I don't usually worry for minnows, particularly bigger minnows. For smaller metal slugs that are more likely to get engulfed I use a short (~15 cm) length of hard wire. When using wire I use the lightest breaking strain possible, typically something around the breaking strain of the line. Another thing I've bought, but not used yet is shipton's knottable metal trace, it's supple like mono . I've had a number of lucky escapes in the past on mono (including a doggie that bit the mono trace off in 2 places but got it all wrapped around his snout!), but in all I haven't lost many lures to macks bite off's at all.


----------



## kritter67 (May 17, 2009)

Redfish said:


> It depends on the lure. I don't usually worry for minnows, particularly bigger minnows. For smaller metal slugs that are more likely to get engulfed I use a short (~15 cm) length of hard wire. When using wire I use the lightest breaking strain possible, typically something around the breaking strain of the line. Another thing I've bought, but not used yet is shipton's knottable metal trace, it's supple like mono . I've had a number of lucky escapes in the past on mono (including a doggie that bit the mono trace off in 2 places but got it all wrapped around his snout!), but in all I haven't lost many lures to macks bite off's at all.


redfish ,about 5-6 years ago my mate and i tried that knottable stuff and it was cr#p  ,i dont know what brand it was though it may be better now ,can you please let me know how you go with it when you use it? cheers and fish to all kritter67[kieran]


----------



## Redfish (Apr 25, 2007)

That's mp good critter. I won't using it on macks for a while as I'm back in vic. I got some 5 kg stuff to use when fishing for couta as I went through $70 in lures in a hot bite last winter! If it works well I'll get some for my next trip north later in the year.


----------



## OzAudio (Jun 20, 2009)

For live baiting or pilchards, yes I always use 105lb single strand stainless, Macks attack the head of the livey hence they also eat the wire.

Whilst fishing in Darwin one day, I had a pitchard on a line dangling in the water beside the boat and I noticed a shaddow below the bait, I stayed dead still and watched a 15kg Mack float up beside the bait and flick its head sideways and swallowed the bait at the head of the pitchard. It was not a lightning fast strike as I expected them to do. Easy catch and fasinating watching how they strike.

When trolling I use RMG scorpions in 1.5m and Laser Pros in 2m. These have ben the most productive and 100% of the strikes have been from the side, both hook ups and misses (the bite maks confirm this on the misses). I have never had a mack swollow one of these lures, so now I don't use wire and I have had no break offs.

If I start to get break offs I would only put a very small wire trace of about 5cm.

Rocky


----------



## Couta101 (May 22, 2009)

Hell Yeah, wire is dfinately a go...!!!

I personally use American number 5 or 6 stainless wire in brown. It has a large enough break stain to tackle large fish.link it to the lure with a haywire twist and to your leader with an albright. Your hook up rate in my opinion is based on bait presentation and lure choice. I have had great success with a wire trace(10-15cm)usually 10cm ;-)

Tight lines..


----------



## Couta101 (May 22, 2009)

By the way always make sure you don't use silver wire or silver swivels as thats where the fish will always strike!!! Resulting in crying over lost lures and missed fish...


----------

