kingfish baits and Lures Silvery live baits such pilchards, threadfin herring, menhaden, mullet and blue runners are preferable to dead baits, according to virtually all top tournament anglers.
What size hooks for kingfish?
The size of the trace and hook size is absolutely paramount and comes down to the bait size. Very often these baits aren’t very big and in that case 80lb or 100lb test and hooks of 5/0 will be fine. We recommend a good livebait hook, Black Magic and Gamakatsu are our go-to hooks.
How hard is it to catch a kingfish?
There are many ways of targeting kingfish from using a wide variety of baits to lures. Although debatable, kingfish can be one of the hardest fish to land , as it is commonly known to make a run to the rocks or anything sharp to bust you off as soon as you hookup.
What is the best rig for kingfish?
There are only six rigs I use: running ball sinker onto the bait, whole bait on a set of ganged hooks, live baiting a whole squid, sliding snooded hooks, bait suspended under a bobby cork, or a bait suspended under a balloon. Try anchoring about 6-10m up current of a marker buoy or channel marker.
What size hooks for king mackerel?
The standard rig for king mackerel fishing is the two-hook stinger rig, made from 37# coffee-colored wire and two treble hooks. I like to use the 4x strong treble hooks when fishing, as these generally don’t break even with the largest king mackerels. Cut a length of wire (about 18 inches) off the spool.
What Colour lures do kingfish like?
In New Zealand, this mainly means natural colours, like shades of greens, silvers, blues, whites, etc. If you’re targeting kingfish (either trolling lures or stick-baits), you’ll be wanting to replicate fish like Jack Mackerel, Blue Koheru, Piper, and even Squid.
What is the best time of the day to catch kingfish?
Often there’s a good bite just before dusk and sometimes early in the morning, but bite times can occur any time during the day. Like many fish, kingies seem to bite best when there’s a bit of tide running.
How do you target kingfish?
Lures, live baits and well-presented dead baits are the most popular techniques employed to target kingfish. Fishers need to respect this powerful fish and use suitably heavy tackle as they have a well-known reputation for breaking gear, cutting lines on underwater obstacles and quickly escaping.
What is the legal size for kingfish?
The minimum legal length for yellowtail kingfish in NSW is 65cm and the possession or bag limit is five per person. “Ten separate offences were detected including possess and sell prohibited size fish as well as the Master of a boat being fined for allowing an offence to take place.
How deep does a kingfish get?
It’s no mystery that dirty water is where kingfish prefer to hunt. Fishing in depths of 90′ to 130′ when the water is cloudy usually affords the opportunity to target kingfish with tremendous effectiveness.
Do kingfish eat mullet?
There is a wide selection of baits that can effectively be used for kings, including live slimy mackerel, yellowtail scad, salmon trout, garfish, mullet, herring, silver trevally, and of course squid. Of the above baits, live mackerel, salmon trout and squid are, in my opinion, the number one baits.
Do you need to bleed kingfish?
The heart will be situated directly behind the cut, and the blood will pump out in spectacular fashion. I suggest you place the fish upside down in a bucket as it bleeds out. A quick wash in sea water and it’s ready for the chilly bin. Trevally and kingfish will also benefit from this bleeding process.
How long should a kingfish leader be?
The length of the main leader is usually around 24 inches , just long enough to prevent a cut-off should the fish strike the head of the bait.
What is the best bait for king mackerel?
Live bait fish work extremely well when fishing for king mackerel. Blue runners, sardines, herring, cigar minnows, and mullet are the top live bait fish. These bait fish are difficult to keep alive. Therefore, most anglers catch their bait fish the morning of the fishing trip using either a cast net or a Sibiki rig.
How do you chum a kingfish?
Fresh bait has better scent than frozen. Other popular chumming methods include: Fish Oil, Menhaden (aka “pogy”) oil is a standard on most kingfish boats. It can be dispersed through IV bags, sponges or soaked rags stuffed into a chum bag.
Who is the pound leader for kingfish?
Around 24-37kg gear is recommended, connected to around 3-5 metres of 37-45kg (80-100lb) trace This is a long leader, but it needs to be.
Where do you put jigs for Kingfish?
Waiheke, Bottom end Heavier jigs of 200-250g or slow pitch jigs 150-200g would be a good tactic. Try and jig right out to the deep drop-off of the channel, as this rise is a great place for kingfish to launch an ambush from.
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_8QiUxJmBQ
https://www.floridasportsman.com/editorial/rig-baits-kingfish/398932
https://www.wikihow.com/Catch-Kingfish
https://www.saltstrong.com/articles/best-rig-and-bait-kingfish/