My 75hp Evinrude pushed up fast enough to reach the mackerel patch in a little over 10 minutes. After rigging a set of ganged hooks with a whole pilchard, we floated them out and sat back to water a glorious morning unfold. Nothing could be better. Forty feet of water beneath the boat, a light easterly blowing and good company. Darryl told me that Western Australian pilchards are the main bait used on these mackerel and I was assured that they are available at every corner store as well as any of the seafood outlets.
Some people prefer to use small silver spoons, either trolled or cast from rods.
The professionals are still allowed to use nets and just sitting there, we could count four of them drifting around with net-boats in tow. I remembered Darryl writing that the pros measured their catches in tonnes - and I was to find out why. There wasn't much activity for the first couple of hours except the coming and going of numerous other craft. They ranged in size from 11' tinnies to 25' cabin cruisers. Darryl was in the process of unwrapping a sandwich when I saw something that was unlike anything I'd every witnessed.