Using the high speed Halco Max 110 to catch Mackerel in Malaysia
By Christopher S.G. Tan
I found an interesting way to pick up the occasional tenggiri
(narrow-barred Spanish mackerel). I started running a small
high-speed bibless lure when moving between fishing spots. Our
fishing often covers different reefs, buoys, islands, or FADs.
When we move to another fishing spot, dropping out a lure or
two when we cruise to the new spot might occasionally get us a
tenggiri!
I did try fast trolling small skirts and jet-heads, but have not gotten any fish on them to date in those coastal waters. However when the Halco Max 110 became available a few years ago, I found it made a great small high-speed trolling or casting lure. Its small size at 110mm makes it a great tenggiri lure in my local Malaysian waters. It has a very nice vibration that works well as I have gotten tenggiri on them.
Being small it does not have as much drag as the larger high-speed lures. This allows us to run them on our regular saltwater light tackle rods (8-17lb or 10-20lb line class rods) and reels as these coastal narrow-barred Spanish mackerel are not big.
It comfortably runs at 10 knots or more, so how fast you troll it depends on how much pressure or bend on the rod you are willing to have, or how long you can hang onto your rod before your hands tire out. I normally run it at 8 knots and above.
Because we are going much faster than normal trolling speeds, I do not set the drag too tight, as the tenggiri would slam the lure hard, and at that speed with the water drag on the line and the rate the boat is moving forward, I do not want to get a break-off.
As the tow-point sits behind the eyes of the lure, to prevent the Max 110 from getting bitten off, I use a wire leader in the event the tenggiri bites at the Max 110 head area. If I use a single strand wire, 27 pound test works for me. I make loops at either end with a haywire twist finished off with a barrel roll.
Alternatively, I use cheap 49 strand wire (20lb or 30lb test) and make a loop knot at either end using the Perfection Loop knot. This cheap 49 strand wire needs to be checked for brown rust stains on following trips. If there are stains, I just discard the wire and use a new one. It is not worth having the lure break off due to corrosion within the wire.
The loop at one end of the wire leader is then slipped onto the tow-point split ring. The other end of the loop is attached to the snap I have tied on the mono nylon/fluoro leader. The wire leader is about 20-30cm long.
The lure runs at 1-2 metres deep, so once clear of the buoy/FAD or reef, I will start trolling the Max 110 enroute to the next fishing spot and hope that a roving narrow-barred mackerel hits the Max! Sometimes it's worth taking taking a high speed trolling pass or two when arriving at the fishing spot (or when leaving), as tenggiri might be hanging or circling around the fishing hole looking for prey.
Conservation
We need to protect and conserve our resources by practising catch and release of our sportfish and protecting the habitat of our fishes.
