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Full mackerel guide
How to spot it, where it lives, how it is caught and how to cook it — the complete guide, in one easy read.
Nothing rings in a Cornish summer like the first mackerel. As the sea warms they pour inshore by the thousand, hunting hard against the headlands and right under the rod tip. Torpedo-bodied and tiger-striped, a fresh one almost burns blue and silver in your hand. They are fast, plentiful and gloriously easy to fall for, which is why half the county learned to fish on them, and they are better still laid over coals the same evening.
How to spot it
There is no mistaking a mackerel in the hand. The body is sleek and torpedo-shaped, narrowing to a deeply forked tail, the back a hard metallic blue-green crossed by bold dark bars. Those bars run almost vertically, like the ripples the tide leaves in wet sand, above a belly of mirror-bright silver. Most run 30-40cm. The clincher, though, is the shine: a fish straight from the water has an iridescence that seems lit from within, and it fades within the hour once the mackerel is out of the sea. No tired fish can fake that living gleam.
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FAQs
Quick fish questions
Short answers for the questions families and coastal readers often ask first.
Is mackerel good for you?
Exceptionally. Mackerel is among the richest sources of omega-3 oils of any fish, alongside protein, vitamin D and B12. Those oils give it its deep, satisfying flavour and support heart and brain health. It is at its very best the same day it is caught.
What is the minimum size limit for mackerel in the UK?
The legal minimum conservation reference size is 20cm in the South West (30cm in the North Sea). Many anglers voluntarily put back anything under about 30cm; carry a measure, take only a few for the table, and let the rest swim on. (Note: NE Atlantic mackerel currently has no MSC certification.)
How do you catch mackerel from the shore?
Spin off the rocks or a pier with a string of feathers or a small shining lure, casting out and retrieving with a steady jigging lift that often brings several fish at once. Sand eel, worm, prawn and shrimp all work as bait too. Fish dawn or dusk on a moving tide.