Mackerel - fast and feisty!

A few species of mackerel can be caught around Fraser Island. They can be caught using a variety of fishing styles, including fly-fishing.

The predominant species are school, spotted, broad bar, and spanish. Spotted mackerel, or spotties, are commonly caught when they feed on the surface. They are similar to school mackerel, or schoolies (fishermen are an imaginative mob!), apart from a few minor physical details, and you will rarely catch a schoolie surface feeding as they tend to hang deeper in the water column.

Larger spanish and broad bar mackerel can be caught on both deep and surface presentations, and prove to be larger, tougher customers than their spotted and school brethren.