Catching a kingfish

[ranoa]

Hi all,

My first post! :hellyeah:

I've been fishing serious for about 4 months now (at least once a week), and have learnt alot from my local tackle store and the fishos who fish the same locations as me. I am currently fishing land-based into Sydney Harbour and was really keen on catching my first Kingfish.

I wanted to ask the question, since I couldn't find it in the "How To:" section, what fishing rigs are suitable to catch a Kingfish. I've been hearing different rigs such as:
- Float with a weighted 1m+ trace with a size 6/0-9/0 mustad livebait hooks
- Float with an unweighted 1m+ trace with same hooks
- Running sinker size 2-4 ball on a 1m+ trace with same hooks
- Heavy star sinkers on a 1m+ trace with same hooks
- Weightless on a 1m+ trace with same hooks (let the yakka swim around)

The bait i'll be using the majority of times is Yakkas with the odd squid if we can catch one on the day. I generally hook the yakka from the beginning of his first top fin, about 1cm down into his body and let swim upright. Are the hooks i'm using correct?

My 2 outfits are basically a 7 foot, 2 piece, 6-10kg rod with a Shimano Baitrunner 4500B on 30LB Fins Braid and 50LB trace and a T-Curve Tournament Spin 3-6kg with a Team Daiwa Advantage 3000 reel running 20LB Fins Braid, are these outfits suitable to catch a kingy?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. Any advise on what rigs are suitable, which rigs you would use and if my gear is suitable to be catching kingfish would be apprecaited. Thanks! :biggrin:

[kingyfisher]

Ranoa,you are going to find hooking a King is a trumatic experience.The problem is not so much hooking one as landing it !
The Kingfish season is basically over in the harbour as the fish move offshore at this time. You may find they are still catchable from the rocks but this is not for the inexperienced and can be very dangerous.
Your gear is a bit light but OK for those fish up to 60-70cms,I would use smaller hooks 4/0 is fine :luck:

[Mr Potato Head]

Gear sounds Ok... give it a go and see what happens.. the BTR4500 should handle any habour kings.. Personally Id go rig #2...

Kingyfisher and kingsrule are the ones to answer your questions!

[moses]

mate i would look at buying a nice overhead as i fish with kingsrule and am constantly being blown away on 50 pound braid and a 6500 baitrunner with 40 pound mono it depends where u fish and what structure is around.we both use 6/0 owner or gamagahtsu with 40 pound leader and a wind on leader with a star sinker and another rod with a small ball sinkeer running to the sinker so the yakka swimming mid water ive hooked a king on a 2000 reel and was blown away quite easily. you will really have to get out here and hook a couple to get the feel of them as they r very dirty fighters which show no mercy. any Qs ask kingyfisher kingsrule.:luck: :luck:

[catchnrelease]

What's the point of putting 30lb braid on a 6-10kg rod an 20lb braid on a 3-6kg rod? :stone:

[KingsRule]

hey mate, you should have asked this question 6months ago! (when the main season started) , better late than never though:redface:

Your gear is fine, just really depends on the locations your fishing, whether it be pylons and moorings or rocks , sandy bottom etc. You dont always need heavy gear to land them but it deffinatley helps. You probably wouldnt need to run 20lb on the advantage as most 10 or 15lb braids break somewhere around if not above that mark. The best method , in my eyes is unweighted , nothing beats it. certain locations the current runs to hard and a sinker deffinatley comes in handy.

As for the hooks, 9/0 is a little on the large side for kings i think. I use 4/0 - 7/0 if fishing squid heads, larger strips and livies. Normally will use the 7/0 if theres a chance of a jew.

The sure fire way of at least a hookup is basically to burly with pillies and bread and send a cube down on a hook on your lighter rod, 10 or 15lb trace is normally the go for this and just feed it down naturally until you get hit.
important tip, never close the bail arm! , normally, if a king comes up and nudges a bait hes tasting it , if he feels a heavy weigh (closed bail arm) he is less likely to come back, if your bail arm is open he will think nothing of it and away you go. For this style i normally use a size 6 upto a 1/0 .


A 4500 will handle most school fish but there are many we cant even stop on 80lb:stone:

If you get no hits on the heavy leader downgrade it to 40 or less. If they do bite it, then your laughing:headbang: ........most of the time:tease:

[Mr Potato Head]

there ya go!!! some good advice...

Ive not caught alot, but from what ive learnt, It sometimes pays to play them on a lighter drag so they dont take off straight for the reef...

[ranoa]

Thanks for the advice guys. I know i've started abit late as kingy season is about to end however I've only really started fishing since January so figured I'd give it a go before it hits the colder months. I'm in high anticipation (and also abit scared) for my first hit up, as I've yet to get hooked on to one. I'll have a look into the Owner or Gamakatsu hooks in the 4/0-7/0 sizes and take try the burley as recommended by KingsRule. By the sounds of all of your advice i've been doing things right so far. it's only a matter of time. Maybe i'll have a pic or two for you next time! *fingers crossed*:lol:


What's the point of putting 30lb braid on a 6-10kg rod an 20lb braid on a 3-6kg rod? :stone:

I always thought people place braid that can withstand more than the rod but wasn't so sure that's why I came here to ask questions.

[Mr Potato Head]

30lb on the 6-10 kg is ok mate.. especially chasing kings, as you may want to point your rod at the fish and thumb the spool... Dont try and load the rod up with that sorta drag setting though..

The lighter rod is proba little heavy.. but again, chasing kings its prolly gonna come in handy to have when you need it

[Dog Catcher]

I always thought people place braid that can withstand more than the rod but wasn't so sure that's why I came here to ask questions.

No !

That's not what you call fushing & you may as well use rope instead of line.

Googlefush was correct in pointing out

What's the point of putting 30lb braid on a 6-10kg rod an 20lb braid on a 3-6kg rod?

That's how you break fishing gear rods are designed to take a certain load & if you are applying more pressure on that blank that it's capable of handling then you'll snap it.

I know you've prob read alot of what peeps have written in regards to using rope on fush such as kungs.

But I much prefer the reverse way of fushing & that is not to lock up, use a lighter drag by doing so the fush wont go like a bat out of hell & try to reef you.

It gives you the chance to tire them out in clear water away from structure.

Now I dont fish shore based but have hooked & landed many a kung on 3 kg tackle out of the boat which I might add is anchor within easy reach of structure for the kungs.

I dont target kungs but virtually hook one or 2 or 3 or more every 2nd trip whilst fushing for snapper hence the 3kg tackle & I'll tell you what I haven't lost to many of those annoying kungy's either.

[Dog Catcher]

I always thought people place braid that can withstand more than the rod but wasn't so sure that's why I came here to ask questions.

No !

That's not what you call fushing & you may as well use rope instead of line.

Googlefush was correct in pointing out

What's the point of putting 30lb braid on a 6-10kg rod an 20lb braid on a 3-6kg rod?

That's how you break fishing gear rods are designed to take a certain load & if you are applying more pressure on that blank that it's capable of handling then you'll snap it.

I know you've prob read alot of what peeps have written in regards to using rope on fush such as kungs.

But I much prefer the reverse way of fushing & that is not to lock up, use a lighter drag by doing so the fush wont go like a bat out of hell & try to reef you.

It gives you the chance to tire them out in clear water away from structure.

Now I dont fish shore based but have hooked & landed many a kung on 3 kg tackle out of the boat which I might add is anchor within easy reach of structure for the kungs.

I dont target kungs but virtually hook one or 2 or 3 or more every 2nd trip whilst fushing for snapper hence the 3kg tackle & I'll tell you what I haven't lost to many of those annoying kungy's either.

[ranoa]

as you may want to point your rod at the fish and thumb the spool... Dont try and load the rod up with that sorta drag setting though..


What do you mean by point your rod at the fish and thumb the spool? When you're hooked on? Sorry if it's a dumb question :lol:

[xtosea]

What do you mean by point your rod at the fish and thumb the spool? When you're hooked on? Sorry if it's a dumb question :lol:
Say a rod is rated to 10kg and you are using 15kg line, if you hold the rod at 45 deg to the sky and have a bend in it while fighting the fish, the line is too heavy and the rod will be under more pressure than stated and may snap, if you hold the rod horizontally or the tip of the rod in the direction of the fish, you will be actually fishing off the spool and therefore wont break your rod.
Kamil

[ranoa]

Say a rod is rated to 10kg and you are using 15kg line, if you hold the rod at 45 deg to the sky and have a bend in it while fighting the fish, the line is too heavy and the rod will be under more pressure than stated and may snap, if you hold the rod horizontally or the tip of the rod in the direction of the fish, you will be actually fishing off the spool and therefore wont break your rod.
Kamil

Ohh I see what Mr Potato Head means now! Thanks for the clarification Kamil!

[dazzassj6]

Say a rod is rated to 10kg and you are using 15kg line, if you hold the rod at 45 deg to the sky and have a bend in it while fighting the fish, the line is too heavy and the rod will be under more pressure than stated and may snap, if you hold the rod horizontally or the tip of the rod in the direction of the fish, you will be actually fishing off the spool and therefore wont break your rod.
Kamil

hey but wouldnt that break your reel if you thumb your spool? I see the bail arm corner roller thing bending wen i pull the line with my hand wen its on full drag.

[kingyfisher]

hey but wouldnt that break your reel if you thumb your spool? I see the bail arm corner roller thing bending wen i pull the line with my hand wen its on full drag.
This is true,I've (accidentally)hooked a few kings on my 2000 Diawa Capricorn and the bail arm in particular has taken such a beating that it now "pops" open sometimes with big fish.The answer is to use a beefier reel Dazza !:headbang:

[jacobvz]

fish higher breaking strain line than rod to account for abrasion on structure and also for less than perfect knot strength

20 kilo line with 75% breaking strength knot leaves only 15 kilo strength and lets face it how many of us tie a perfect knot with 95% strength retention?

Jack

[borisboga]

fish higher breaking strain line than rod to account for abrasion on structure and also for less than perfect knot strength

20 kilo line with 75% breaking strength knot leaves only 15 kilo strength and lets face it how many of us tie a perfect knot with 95% strength retention?

Jack
good point jack

[armagh6]

The sure fire way of at least a hookup is basically to burly with pillies and bread and send a cube down on a hook on your lighter rod, 10 or 15lb trace is normally the go for this and just feed it down naturally until you get hit.
important tip, never close the bail arm! , normally, if a king comes up and nudges a bait hes tasting it , if he feels a heavy weigh (closed bail arm) he is less likely to come back, if your bail arm is open he will think nothing of it and away you go. For this style i normally use a size 6 up to a 1/0.

Rob, just reading your expert advice here!
Are you seriously saying you've caught kings on a pillie cube on a size 6 hook?? If so, what type of hook, and what method do you use to bait it?
Very intrigued.

[KingsRule]

Yep!

They just love it, they will also gobble down bread , prawns, chicken whitebait etc. Another way to do it if you want a little more excitement is to burly them up and have a bass minnow or a bucktail jig ready and when they come up the trail jig it around them and it normally gets them fairly excited.

I actually made a mistake in that reply i use size 10-1/0 for this.
Hooks - my favourite would be the gammakatsu panfish or the octopus.
they are super sharp and you wont have any problems.

Just have the mainline joined to your leader whatever it may be, have it 1-2m
then just tie your hook to the end , no sinker!
The reaction to a unweighted bait is normally instant they just suck it up like a piece of burly:headbang:

[armagh6]

Amazing stuff Rob. A kingyfisher bloke showed me a similar tip for bream. Never thought that you could hook a king though, on one of those hooks! How do you thread a pillie cube on one of those size 10 hooks? I know how to do it with the tail, but not a cube?
Secondly, would this method work near a harbour marker (I presume you're talking about pier fishing)?

[KingsRule]

for the cube just thread the hook through once then tun the hook over , place the point in the cube and pull the line tight, it should be embedded in the cube..not sure if that makes sense?

[kingyfisher]

I have hooked so many Kings on size 10 gamagatsu its embaressing! bread,pillie ,prawn,squid & even catfood!:rolling laughter::rolling laughter:

[KingsRule]

who do you think i learnt it from:rolling laughter: