HomeFishing Atlantic Mackerel
Species · Southern New England

Atlantic Mackerel

Also known as Boston mackerel, tinker mackerel (small).

A small, fast, cold-water schooling fish that migrates through New England spring and fall. Caught in numbers on multi-hook rigs both as a light-tackle target and as prime live/cut bait for striped bass and bluefish.

When they run

Spring (April–June) as schools move through inshore, and again in the fall (September–October); largely absent inshore in warm midsummer.

How to catch them

  • Casting and jigging small metals
  • Mackerel-tree / sabiki rigs
  • Light-tackle jigging in the upper water column

Bait & lures

Sabiki / mackerel-tree rigsSmall diamond jigs and metalsSmall tinsel/feather jigs

Where to find them

The upper 10–25 ft of open coastal water; schools roam nearshore during the migrations.

A cool-water fish rather than a summer one — present across all six during the spring and fall migration windows.

Catch reports from cruisers

No catch reports for Atlantic Mackerel yet. Landed one in these waters? Add the first — real reports only, moderated before they appear.

Report a catch

Augusto fishing notes are a starting point, not a guarantee — fish move with the water and the season. Nothing here is a substitute for current state regulations or local knowledge.