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How to catch Chilean jack mackerel

Trachurus murphyi Nichols, 1920

About Chilean jack mackerel fishing

The Chilean jack mackerel is a pelagic schooling fish belonging to the family Carangidae, recognised by its elongated, fusiform body, large head with an adipose eyelid, and a striking metallic blue back shading to silvery white below. Growing up to 70 cm in maximum length and commonly reaching 45 cm, this oceanodromous species inhabits both coastal and open oceanic waters from near the surface down to depths of over 300 metres. It feeds primarily on small crustaceans, fish larvae, and squid, utilizing open-water environments across temperate marine zones. Highly mobile and schooling by nature, it plays a substantial role in pelagic marine food webs as both a consumer of planktonic life and prey for larger oceanic predators like tunas and billfishes.

  • Difficulty

    Medium

  • Average size

    45 cm FL

  • Market value

    Medium

  • Habitat

    Saltwater

  • Season

    Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

  • Also known as

    Horse mackerel, Inca scad, Jack mackerel, Oceanic peruvian jack mackerel, Peruvian jack mackerel, Slender mackerel

Chilean jack mackerel

Forked caudal shape

Deeply forked caudal fin helps provide powerful swimming speeds.

Thoracic pelvic fins

Pelvic fins positioned directly beneath the pectoral region.

Scuted lateral line

Distinctly curved lateral line with bony scutes along the body.

Chilean jack mackerel fishing facts

Characteristics

  • Typical size

    45 cm FL (max 70 cm TL )

  • Typical weight

    0.5 kg (max 2.7 kg )

  • Preferred temperature

    14.1–22.6 °C

  • Depth

    10–306 m

  • Longevity

    16 years

  • Body shape

    Fusiform / Normal

  • Commercial?

  • Vulnerability score

    66.9

Best hours

  • Dawn

    First light

    Peak

  • Morning

    After sunrise

    Active

  • Midday

    High sun

    Low

  • Afternoon

    Late day

    Low

  • Dusk

    Last light

    Peak

  • Night

    After dark

    Active

When to fish for Chilean jack mackerel

01
January
02
February
03
March
04
April
05
May
06
June
07
July
08
August
09
September
10 Now
October
11
November
12
December

How to catch Chilean jack mackerel

Tips for catching Chilean jack mackerel

Targeting this pelagic species requires locating offshore schools using sonar or surface activity indicators such as feeding sea birds. Anglers find success by working medium-weight spinning gear equipped with metallic spoons or jigs that mimic small schooling prey fish. Trolling small artificial baits along temperature breaks and current lines at midwater depths yields consistent results when fish are scattered. Early morning and late afternoon hours offer the most productive fishing windows as schools rise closer to the surface to feed actively on pelagic crustaceans and small fish larvae.

Other names for Chilean jack mackerel

Local and alternate names anglers use for Chilean jack mackerel.

  • Chilean jack mackerel
  • Southern jack mackerel
  • Slender mackerel
  • Peruvian jack mackerel
  • Oceanic peruvian jack mackerel
  • Jack mackerel
  • Inca scad
  • Horse mackerel

Best equipment to catch Chilean jack mackerel

Compare fishing methods for Chilean jack mackerel — sized kit for each technique.

Note: Typical fish is 0.5 kg Our algorithm will suggest the best equipment for you based on this weight.

Best lures and baits for Chilean jack mackerel

Ranked lures and natural baits from every method, best first.

How Chilean jack mackerel migrates — Oceanodromous

Migrates within the sea between spawning, nursery and feeding grounds, and never enters fresh water. Follow its seasonal shifts along the coast and offshore.

How Chilean jack mackerel migrates — Oceanodromous 1. Eggs: Laid on the spawning grounds. 2. Larvae: Drift with the currents to the nursery grounds. 3. Juveniles: Grow up in sheltered nursery waters. 4. Adults: Range widely over the feeding grounds. 5. Spawners: Return to the spawning grounds each season.
Spawning grounds Nursery grounds Feeding grounds

1 Eggs

Spawning grounds

Laid on the spawning grounds.

2 Larvae

→ Nursery grounds

Drift with the currents to the nursery grounds.

3 Juveniles

Nursery grounds

Grow up in sheltered nursery waters.

4 Adults

Feeding grounds

Range widely over the feeding grounds.

5 Spawners

→ Spawning grounds

Return to the spawning grounds each season.

It stays in the sea and never runs up into fresh water.

Hover or tap a number to read each stage.

Diet and behavior of Chilean jack mackerel

Prey and predators of Chilean jack mackerel

Prey is what Chilean jack mackerel eats. Predators are the animals that eat it.

That is how it feeds, and how it is hunted.

Prey

What it eats

Predators

What hunts it

Fish

  • Dissostichus eleginoides juv./adults
  • Merluccius gayi peruanus juv./adults
  • Xiphias gladius juv./adults

Where Chilean jack mackerel lives

Pelagic in the open ocean beyond the shelf break.

Habitats
Saltwater
Depth zone
Epipelagic, Mesopelagic
10–306 m
Usually 10–70 m
Water column
Open water
Does not use the seabed

Where this species lives