Chub mackerel · fishing, baits & best season

Overview

Close relative of the mackerel, with larger eyes and spots on flanks. Fast and gregarious pelagic fish.

Identification

Body

Slim and streamlined body with a conical head and large mouth.

Colouration

Blue-green back with a silver belly and irregular spots on the sides.

Sexual dimorphism

Absent/not very pronounced

Growth

Fast, reaching maturity in a few years

Taxonomy

Family

Scombridae

Order

Perciformes

Class

Actinopterygii

Related species

Habitat & distribution

Environment

Coast, Open sea, Reefs, Pelagic

Preferred bottom

Sand, Rock, Reef

Geographic distribution

Found in all temperate seas, especially the Mediterranean and along the eastern Atlantic coasts.

Micro-habitat

Often swims in open waters and is found near plankton schools for feeding.

Prefers relatively shallow and warm waters.

Presence by sea area

Diet

Primary prey

plankton, krill, small fish

Secondary prey

fish larvae, small crustaceans, squid

Occasional prey

jellyfish, annelids

Feeding behaviour

Feeds by filtering plankton while swimming or attacking small fish in schools.

Natural predators

tunas, dolphins, sharks, seabirds

Tends to feed mainly in surface waters.

Behaviour

Activity

diurnal

Social behaviour

large_schools

Aggressiveness

medium

Migration

Performs seasonal migrations to more temperate areas.

Seasonal behaviour

More active in summer when waters are warmer and food is abundant.

Juveniles

Youngsters tend to form smaller schools compared to adults.

Adults

Adults move in large, well-coordinated schools.

Reproduction

Spawning season

June, July

Spawning depth

between 20 and 60 meters

Eggs

Pelagic, translucent small eggs.

Larval stage

Larvae are planktonic and develop rapidly within weeks.

Sexual maturity

2-3 years

When to catch Chub mackerel

This species shows peak fishing activity in summer and autumn, when the productivity index (FPI) reaches its highest values.

Fishing activity decreases in winter, when conditions are less favourable.

Ideal conditions

Where to catch it

Best spots

Fishing techniques

Recommended

Other applicable

Recommended baits

Baits by pressure

How to really catch it

The chub mackerel is a tight, restless pelagic fish built for open water: a streamlined body, forked tail, and large schools that can suddenly flare beneath the surface. When it starts feeding on plankton or small fish, everything changes within a few meters of water, and catching it becomes an exercise in reading the sea.

🐟 Good to know

Although it is often targeted as a small predator, chub mackerel does not feed only by chasing baitfish: it can also feed by filtering plankton while swimming. This double feeding strategy helps explain why it may be found both in hectic attacks on small fish and in open water near plankton concentrations.

🌊 Where & when

It lives between the coast and the open sea, over sandy or rocky bottoms and near reefs, usually from 10 to 200 meters. It is found in temperate seas, especially the Mediterranean and the eastern Atlantic coasts, and becomes more active from the warm season into autumn, peaking from June to November; in June and July it spawns between 20 and 60 meters.

🎣 How to really catch it

To truly catch it, trolling is the most concrete approach: picture a natural bait working cleanly through the water, a sardine or anchovy passing where currents rise, along coastal areas or in open water near feeding schools. A medium-light rod with 10-15 lb main line, a fluorocarbon leader, size 4-6 hooks, and a small olive sinker keeps the presentation subtle and believable; when it hits, expect quick bursts and an agile fight.

💡 The detail that makes the difference

The soundest tip is to look for chub mackerel where the sea shows suspended life more than structure: open water, upwelling currents, plankton presence, and baitfish. Biologically this makes sense, because it is a diurnal, schooling species tied to group feeding; if you intercept the school, you often do not meet one fish but a whole moving wave.

Catch & handling tips

Fight

Active and agile, tends to make quick bursts.

Handling

Handle carefully to avoid damaging the scales.

Release

Support the body and release quickly into the water.

Curiosities & culture

Record catches

Maximum documented size: up to about 55 cm and 1.6 kg (source: FishBase). IGFA All-Tackle record: 0.75 kg (1 lb 10 oz), caught off Brielle, New Jersey (USA), in 2021.

In the kitchen

Used for canned preserves in oil, grilled, or stewed.

Cultural notes

Often found in markets and appreciated for its tasty flesh.

Historical notes

A species known and fished since ancient times in the Mediterranean.

Fishing guides for this species