Volitan Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 (edited) I went to Pittwater this morning for another session chasing pelagics on lure and fly. The fishing was slow, quiet on the surface with almost no bust-ups. The only thing which brightened the morning was this Samson fish - taken on a deep diving hardbody lure. Oddly, I caught it in almost exactly the same spot as the amberjack which I showed in a post earlier in the week. The other post is worth looking at to see the difference between an amberjack and Samson fish of exactly the same size, and in exactly the same position. The plague of tiny mac tuna is still around and making fishing difficult. cheers Arron Edited February 26, 2015 by Volitan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamestown Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 Well done mate. Where are the Macs holding up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted February 26, 2015 Author Share Posted February 26, 2015 (edited) Well done mate. Where are the Macs holding up?I think they are throughout the system. I fished from Towlers Bay to Mackeral Beach and they were everywhere.Bonito are absent and frigates are uncommon. Even the tailor seem to have thined out . Makes me wonder if the competition from hordes of mack tuna has driven these other fish out - gone somewhere where they can compete. I cant help thinking the number of baitfish is in steep decline too - maybe as a result of excessive predation by the micro tunas. Cant be sure about that though I havent seen any 'nervous water' for a while, just little baitballs. Edited February 26, 2015 by Volitan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 The small mac tuna are in the Harbour and Port Hacking as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginko Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 The mack tuna were out in force this morning too - although a few bust-ups were kingies. They are all eating tiny "eyes" about 4-5cm long and silvery-brown coloured. I could not get the kingies to bite (in spite of trying poppers, metal slices (30gm, 25gm,15gm), sp (white and shimmery-silver), squid strips and yakkas). I think little flies might be the go for them. The Mack Tuna were eagerly taking 15gm metal slices, both on the surface and drifted down deep. The make nice tempura-battered dinner! I did see a fisho in a yak, skillfully handling a king on 2kg line. He was over sand at the time so no bust-off on the bottom, and the fisho pedalled his yak out to clear water to play the fish. He had it on for a good 25 minutes before successfully netting it. To my eye - it looked just on legal, so a great effort on such light gear. Not sure what lure he was using. No tailor to be seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 What's the difference between Mac tuna and frigate Mac? I think these Mac tuna are frigates... My understanding is tuna are bigger than frigates?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ojay Samson Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 What's the difference between Mac tuna and frigate Mac? I think these Mac tuna are frigates... My understanding is tuna are bigger than frigates?? From what I understand they both look the same except the Mac tuna has black spots/dots on the lower part of its body near the gills. The frigate mackerel has no such dots. Correct me if I'm wrong. Ojay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 No idea, I just assumed if they weren't the same then the "smaller" ones were frigates? I thought the Mac Tuna were open water and not bay - I may be wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sydneyfisher12 Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 As said mac tuna have dots on their belly and frigates don't we've been getting both in the same bust ups but the mac tuna are smaller than the frigates but don't go as hard as mac tuna. Mac Tuna also have larger mouths and sharper and bigger teeth than frigates Here's the different between mac tuna and frigates Frigate mackerel : Mac tuna : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Pics help! Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josamill Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 We've been catching them last 2 weekends in Pittwater - excellent fun for my 9 year old son, and therefore me too! You can catch 20 in an hour. I flattened the barbs on the treble so zero fish damage. We have caught larger mack tuna around Broken Bay in years passed, but I have never see these smaller ones in such numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefish Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 To be scientific a frigate is not a mackerel, It's a tuna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volitan Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 (edited) Just for the record, and because this topic comes up often, here is the definitive list of the differences between mackerel tuna and frigate mackerel, with help from Sea Fishes of Southern Australia by Hutchins and Swainston. 1. Mac tuna usually have between 2 and 5 spots just above the ventral and below the pectoral fins. Occasionally these may be absent in the mac, or not appear till the fish is very stressed (ie after capture). 2. Mac tuna have a prolonged first dorsal fin, which reaches nearly as far as the start of the second dorsal. The frigate has a short first dorsal and a gap between the first and second dorsals at least as long as the first dorsal. This usually doesn't show in photos - because most of the first dorsal on the mac tuna folds down and out of sight when not fully stressed. 3. The mac tuna has teeth that you can feel with your finger as little nodules. The frigate has villiform teeth (ie like a file). 4. The mac tuna has a larger mouth, more pointed second dorsal, bluer colouration and slightly fatter profile then the frigate. I've bundled these diagnostics in together because they aren't much use unless you have both species side by side. 5. Mac tuna are recorded as far south as Merimbula, Frigate mackerel are recorded circum-Australia. 6. Mac tuna grow to 1 metre in length, frigate mackerel to only 58cm. All in all, they are amazingly similar fish - which is odd because they aren't even the same genus, so not particularly closely related. I guess its more a matter of parallel evolution. Mac tuna (the bigger ones, not these tiny underwater locusts which we are getting at the moment) usually stay offshore until late autumn when they come inshore chasing their preferred prey items. I have caught them landbased at Pearl Beach in May - in 60cm of water. They were feeding on Ogilvys Hardyheads and Sandy Sprats - so I guess its an issue of when these two baitfish species come into shallow water - with the decent macs following them. The little ones we see at the moment are feeding on young Australian Anchovy - which I don't think would interest the larger specimens. I hope they leave some for the other fish. A few years ago (well, maybe about 15 years ago) there was a good run of bigger Mac Tuna into Sydney Harbour in early winter. Like 2 to 5 kilo fish. Lots around Rushcutters Bay. A real treat. Then nothing for a few years. cheers Arron Edited March 2, 2015 by Volitan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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