skunga

That is a huge trev! good work!! Very impressive bait school - it feels like its going to be a good summer!!

Let me know how you go boys.. I'm jealous why work when you can bag a few kings

Ben, Great work! Awesome pics - you must be stoked!! Its awesome knowing the kings are on early this year

Raiders, Dale got away a little earlier than me from work, and wasting no time scored a flatty in the shallows even before i got to the ramp... Anyway we pulled away under a looming sky and headed to our fave spot.... I could spot our posi in the distance but with something not 'normal' I spotted a grey haze just above the water and before too long worked out they were BIRDS and working HAAARD.. There were schools all over the place busting up all around us... it doesnt get better - yellow tail flashes, i knew what was lurking!! Before too long dale yells "I think i felt ah.,......... IM ON!" but alas... the line becomes slack.. I re-rig and a few more casts with another chomped clean "Choppers!" I pull in a stickbait minus its tail to confirm! chase the school some more and dale is into it again - nice fight and in she comes - 56cm yellertail kingy By now im beside myself hardly a touch!!! we motor around and find the school again.... I get surprised by a kingy that comes right from under the boat as i pull my SP out of the water - he had his mouth out of the water!! awesome stuff! Another cast and tap-tappety-tap-tap im on!! a bit of a small fight for a king but i can feel some weight.... all of a sudden SPLASH some acrobatics and power-dives a plenty 5mins later a nice fat sambo boated!! Awesome - again on the light stuff - really gets me going!! Headed home racing darkness.. Cheers Steve.

Going by my luck lately ill hook a freight train, and get bust off in the first power dive haha

Going out again this arvo armed ONLY with the light gear

Ceph - they were around the 70cm mark, tho one follow was much bigger.. As for the Gars, I have a hook coming out of the belly, with the leader feeding thru its guts and out of the mouth. I use thin single strand wire to get the leader thru. I put some thin nylon thru the eyes then tie down the mouth and keep looping up the snout to the tip of the nose.. this way it will track straight. Sometimes, I tie on small treble and have that trailing at about its tail. To be honest tho, we've had no luck with the kings on baits lately - well only one take on a crusty salted pilchard..

Fussy sometimes, but thats what brings me back to them time and again. Good to catch up with you Marco.. Def get out there for a session in the future.

Got out there again on the weekend - both saturday and sunday. Saturday got out at 10ish - late start, in fact hadnt planned on fishing, but when I saw the water I had to go for a splash. Got to my posi and chucked around plastic and downrigged gar's for a big fat nothing. Was good to get out - such a lovely day. Sunday I had a terrible time with my mtn bike breaking a chain (for the second time in a month) so with an ominous sky looming and with the day winding to an end - I put the boat in for a quick session. Arrived at my posi and chucked plastic for a while.. the water looked very fishy - low light, calm and with a few drops from the sky.... for about half an hour there was nothing and I was about to head home for a beer when I saw a flash after a lazy retrieve... I didn't believe my eyes, but had another cast not expecting anything - Two good sized kingies followed this time!!! Right im into it again, varying the retieve and action but for nothing - I motor around and flicking everywhere.. I hear a splosh near where I cast my 6inch slug on a jighead... Pulling it in quite fast, I see another flash then WHAM..... here we go - another on the light rod... it worked the drag for about 2mins then PING... bust off... Lots of swearing later.. and about another 100 casts.. I turned for home.. Cheers Steve.

Ben top work mate. I'm envious - must be awesome to get them on a yak! Good luck - kingy season is looking good! Steve.

depends what's eating them.....

will have to have a session on the pitty kings with you boys over summer

you boys are on fire!!! impressive!

Rob, on jig heads - letting them sink 3/4 of the water column or so.

Hutcho - Certainly not!! Bait is still a VERY important part of the equation.. I still love berleying up kings and sight feeding them some unweighted baits - anything from prawns & squid to gars and pilchards... Still such an exciting way of hooking these brutes - to see them sniff at it & the anticipation welling up then finally the drag singing its sweet sweet song is fantastic. Fresh or live squid is a very active way of getting at these brutes of the harbour. As is downrigging a live yakka/slimey. Or try casting a skip-bait gar when they are active. Like Dale said - Kings are easily turned on, and just as quickly shut down.. Don't worry about noise... In fact make lots of noise when you get to the marker.. they seem to fire up! Last season I was bashing my rod holder out of its socket as it was salted in there tight.. only to have one of my rods buckle over with a crusty old pilchard on the end of it. Cheers, Steve.

VERY impressed guys! and secretly very very jealous!! now go get them kings! Steve.

Good to hear they are on the chew - have only had sporadic luck with them over the past month or so. If i freeze them nice and quick, in a zip lock bag, they work well next time out for kings.

Top work Justin! Gotta love an after work arvo session!!

Frank, I got done on a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiig stickbait - red on top and yellow underneath. Dale got worked on a small white stickbait. work the markers in the harbour and you should get em

Got out there again this afternoon. Dale, Kev and I rocked up to our fave spot and without further adieu got into chucking plastic. after 2 casts, Dale calls "im onnnn!" I turn to Kev - who had been wanting to see "one of these kings you always talk about" - and told him to bring in his line, while walking up to take the motor and let Dale fight on 10lb braid!!! .....I only got half way when up comes a king and snaffles my 9inch stickbait on the surface!!! double hook ups and its not even half way thru october! Dale got torched.. and with a frown admitted a bust off. I managed to land a 52cm model - and back she went. We had another follow after that and then went home. Get out there!!!!! Cheers Steve. PS: no pics this time as we were frantic to get a few more!!

Good work boys on a tough-as fish! You are well in your rights to take the fish and I personally wonder what a groper would taste like.. I'm sure it went down well! I'm glad that you have the bigger picture in mind, with consideration for the bigger models and noting that its not a divers haunt - good work. With that said I'm with you guys not wanting to keep them - I've dived with them for years - They are like a friendly dog of the sea, curious and playful.. I couldn't take something with that much personality. Steve.

There was a breeze but it was against the current so it had us sitting still near the marker! Not cold at all.. Dale's boat is a 14ft tinny I guess.. with a 30donk on the back Mines even smaller! (tho its the baddest-little tinny around!)

Peter - I think kings are tough bastards, but the sampson that i've encountered seemed tougher. Its hard to weigh them up pound-for-pound - if you pull a good bream out of cover on light gear its just as exciting as a king from the moorings.. If the fish has a good chance to bust you off during the fight & your not sure if you will boat it or not - that is what it is all about...

Ceph, Shant, She went 72cm and kicked up some stink summer is looking good!!

Daleyboy & I emailed each other during the day, low and behold early knock off from work for the both of us. I was offered a ride on Dale's boat, so quickly scooted home to grab my gear. Funny how many red lights i encountered and seemingly how long it took to go green... nevertheless, we were on the water by 5.20... Happy days! We headed over to our fave marker and threw all sorts of plastic around. Dale called a few hits after a while on a long, white worm like plastic.. Looking good..... I rigged up my light spin rod with a small glow atomic shad and had a few shots.. two heaves off the bottom and up past the marker It was wolfed by my first kingy of the season! Some great team work driving the boat, bringing in other lines etc had me fighting this king for a good 10mins. some serious power dives later and with the drag locked as tight as I could on 14lb fins braid saw it boated. We came home filleted the king - I gave Dale half, and we ate some sashimi.. Couldn't be happier for an hour session on a tuesday after work!