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						Unfortunately for them, however, mackerel are just about the perfect size to be on the menu for just about every large species of predator found in British waters and beyond. Bass love them, seals gorge upon them - when they get the chance - and dolphins and sharks pursue them to the bitter end. So what does our intrepid little predator turned prey do? Well, fortunately for them, they have a variety of defence mechanisms that come into play. Take for example, speed. It is very handy for catching smaller prey but it is also very useful for getting away from larger hunters. Then there is the whole business of the shoal. 'Don't eat me, eat someone else. Look, there are lots of them here.' If you think about it, then it makes perfect sense since one mackerel amongst thousands has that much more chance of escaping than a fish on its own. There is also camouflage. If it was not bad enough that the mackerel shares the sea with lots of creatures seemingly out for its blood, it faces aerial bombardment from cormorants and lots of other birds as well. Okay, so what does the mackerel do? Well, over thousands of years it has developed the blue back and stripes that make it blend in with choppy water, making it that much more difficult to spot. Meanwhile it tries the same trick in reverse for the predators coming at it from below, developing silver sides and an equally bright belly that makes it that much harder to spot against the brighter skyline, especially on a warm and sunny day.
		(Contributed by Martyn Green, Coordinator, Baywater Anglers.)
								He may look cute and cuddly but you would be amazed how many mackerel he can eat in one sitting. He also has a surprising turn of speed so mackerel, if they get wind of his approach, try to put as much distance between them as they can.
					One way or another, the Summer is a testing time for the mackerel but, as the long, hot weather draws to a close and the water temperature starts to cool down, so its hunger becomes a little more manageable. It still hunts actively for prey but things are just that little bit less intense. A lot of the shoals tend to head out for deeper water but a few remain behind, swimming that much more slowly as they hunt for something to eat. Only last year, for example, in December, I stood on Babbacombe Pier and watched the leisurely approach of a shoal that had overwintered in the bay. I could not believe how slowly they moved, keeping just a couple of feet down from the surface and moving so cautiously that I had to double check that they were, indeed, mackerel. So, just to be sure, I flicked a fly in front of them, just to see what they would do. The rest, as they say, is history.