The Mackerel Run
The Atlantic Mackerel is a fast swimming, schooling fish species that is caught between Labrador and North Carolina. There are two major spawning components of this population: a southern group that spawns primarily in the Mid-Atlantic during April and May, and a northern group that spawns in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in June and July.
When the mackerel are running they weave in and out of the harbors gorging themselves with anything that swims. They travel in large schools and 2 or more mackerel can be taken from a single cast using Mackerel feathers or multiple hooks. This is where the fun is. Sometimes you see fishermen coming home with two or three pails of the fish. No license is needed to fish mackerel.
The flesh is similar to tuna except is has an oily composition. They taste great fried but many people around White Point Beach smoke them.
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