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The Kingfish Crawl.


namesay

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G'day raiders. Most of you have heard about a pub crawl but I had an interesting day which I am calling a kingfish crawl!!!

The day started with my two boys at Pittwater. First task was to catch squid . They were pretty timid but we raised a few. As ususal when I have my boys with me they get carried away with catching squid and we spent far too much time on them. However, we got a good supply for a days fishing.

Out went the downrigger and we tried the wrecks and bays. The wind was a pain but after about an hour or so we got a hit. It was a kingfish of almost 90cm.

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We tried spot after spot for nothing but pickers and tailer so I decided to move. I have been talking to some mates who have been getting a few in Cowan and Flint and Steel so we went out to try there. Flint and Steel was as windy as a Shane Warne on baked beans so we moved into Cowan Creek. I am not as familiar with this area as I am with others but we scored a fish about 63 cm which was released.

By this time the troops were getting restless so I decided to go home BUT we had a few squid left! It is a shame to let top bait go to waste so after going home for a quick change and some food I decided to go to middle harbour. I still can't figure out how kids can get SO wet on a DRY day! Despite :wife: objections both of them were keen to get out to middle harbour with me.

Roseville ramp was like a boat show!!! But I launched the boat and started downrigging with the squid from Pittwater. I guess squid is squid as the pittwater squid quickly took off. I landed a fish of about 86cm. Man!!! I had to dodge a couple of cruisers and a FERRY to land this fish.

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We got a couple more fish in the moorings mainly small fish just around legal size.

post-2057-1162112559_thumb.jpg

By this time we had run out of squid. You would have thought we would have packed it in but we were so close to Balmoral we went and got another couple more squid inthe kelp beds. While coming back to middle harbour I met a few fellow raiders. The Spit was so full of boats that it resembled a food blender!!

Anyway I met Netic and gave him a couple of pointers on where they were biting. If you are reading this Netic you owe me a couple!!! :1prop: It seems like you had a few issues with the sounder as well.

We trolled all the way back to the boat ramp and picked up another 2 fish. Everytime we wanted to pull the plug and go home a fish would interrupt our plans and the two boys were fighting eachother to get to the rod first :biggrin2: .

post-2057-1162115160_thumb.jpg

I finally gave my last squid to Netic so that we could call it quits! We came back home after a long day on the water tired but happy. The fishing wasn't spectacular but steady. Despite the amount of boat traffic the fish were biting but were very timid. My boys and I had great fun and enjoyed eachother's company. I met some of the great people on this site....what more could you want?

To some of the raiders out there, if you want kingies consistently in Syd Harbour and Pittwater you gotta catch squid. I spend more money on squid tackle than anything else and spent more time figuring out these fellas than the kingies! I can't wait for my next trip.Cheers Kelvin

Edited by namesay
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The day I get sick of kingies is when they put my corpse in a grave! I am planning on going to WA to tangle with the cousin of the kingie- the Samson fish.I have never caught a big one of these. I guess the biggest I have caught was maybe 2-2.5kg. I just can't get enough of these fellas! CHeers Kelvin

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No need to go to W.A mate. We have Samsons & Amberjack right here in Sydney.

From Feb-May they are in good numbers around main harbour & middle head. We have got them up to 8kgs.

The bigger fellas are offshore. Not as big or as many as W.A, but they are there.

You will get sick of the Kingies after a while. Everyone does! :biggrin2:

Well done on a top session. It's great to see you nurturing the next generation of Fishraiders! :thumbup:

Cheers,

Grant.

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Well done Kelvin, thanks for the sounder alert as my mates shi.t itself i think.

Jewhunter your right we do have some good Samsons and Amberjacks right here in Sydney, Last season we caught a good amberjack of around 5kg at Seafourth.

And i also agree after a while you do get a little tired of kings, After the good season of Tunas i must admit, the fight of a kingy is not as good as i remember.

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Well done Kelvin, thanks for the sounder alert as my mates shi.t itself i think.

Jewhunter your right we do have some good Samsons and Amberjacks right here in Sydney, Last season we caught a good amberjack of around 5kg at Seafourth.

And i also agree after a while you do get a little tired of kings, After the good season of Tunas i must admit, the fight of a kingy is not as good as i remember.

I am not a fan of that brand of sounder on your mate's boat. Doesn't seem to do anything right. Tell him to invest in a proper sounder as it can make all the difference!

With kingies it a sprint- short and sharp. Tuna is like a marathon. THe last yellowfin I caught gave be a bad back for a week!!! :thumbup:

The samsons in WA are almost a guarantee. THe guys there tell me most are 20kg and over ...can't wait to get over there! CHeers Kelvin

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G'day raiders. Most of you have heard about a pub crawl but I had an interesting day which I am calling a kingfish crawl!!!

The day started with my two boys at Pittwater. First task was to catch squid . They were pretty timid but we raised a few. As ususal when I have my boys with me they get carried away with catching squid and we spent far too much time on them. However, we got a good supply for a days fishing.

Out went the downrigger and we tried the wrecks and bays. The wind was a pain but after about an hour or so we got a hit. It was a kingfish of almost 90cm.

post-2057-1162111769_thumb.jpg

We tried spot after spot for nothing but pickers and tailer so I decided to move. I have been talking to some mates who have been getting a few in Cowan and Flint and Steel so we went out to try there. Flint and Steel was as windy as a Shane Warne on baked beans so we moved into Cowan Creek. I am not as familiar with this area as I am with others but we scored a fish about 63 cm which was released.

By this time the troops were getting restless so I decided to go home BUT we had a few squid left! It is a shame to let top bait go to waste so after going home for a quick change and some food I decided to go to middle harbour. I still can't figure out how kids can get SO wet on a DRY day! Despite :wife: objections both of them were keen to get out to middle harbour with me.

Roseville ramp was like a boat show!!! But I launched the boat and started downrigging with the squid from Pittwater. I guess squid is squid as the pittwater squid quickly took off. I landed a fish of about 86cm. Man!!! I had to dodge a couple of cruisers and a FERRY to land this fish.

post-2057-1162112405_thumb.jpg

We got a couple more fish in the moorings mainly small fish just around legal size.

post-2057-1162112559_thumb.jpg

By this time we had run out of squid. You would have thought we would have packed it in but we were so close to Balmoral we went and got another couple more squid inthe kelp beds. While coming back to middle harbour I met a few fellow raiders. The Spit was so full of boats that it resembled a food blender!!

Anyway I met Netic and gave him a couple of pointers on where they were biting. If you are reading this Netic you owe me a couple!!! :1prop: It seems like you had a few issues with the sounder as well.

We trolled all the way back to the boat ramp and picked up another 2 fish. Everytime we wanted to pull the plug and go home a fish would interrupt our plans and the two boys were fighting eachother to get to the rod first :biggrin2: .

post-2057-1162115160_thumb.jpg

I finally gave my last squid to Netic so that we could call it quits! We came back home after a long day on the water tired but happy. The fishing wasn't spectacular but steady. Despite the amount of boat traffic the fish were biting but were very timid. My boys and I had great fun and enjoyed eachother's company. I met some of the great people on this site....what more could you want?

To some of the raiders out there, if you want kingies consistently in Syd Harbour and Pittwater you gotta catch squid. I spend more money on squid tackle than anything else and spent more time figuring out these fellas than the kingies! I can't wait for my next trip.Cheers Kelvin

Kelvin

Kingies are like an addiction to you. Awesome day. Lokk forward to meeting you one day. Maybe on Pittwater.

davo

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Once again you have come out on top.

Your consistent results are proof of your hard work and efforts, definately dedicated and keen if you launch your boat at two waterways in Sydney in the one day.

Good to see you did not put the squid to waste !!!!

Perhaps you should target the Samson fish, if you leave the Kings alone and combined with the ban of trawlers and King traps, the Kings in Sydney may jump into boats very soon !!! Just kidding, I know you release most of your fish and only keep what you need.

Keep writing the reports mate, they are very interesting and informative. I definately look forward to your postings.

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Great work Kelvin.

Ha Netic you can't compare yellowfin to kingies.There completely different

style of fighting fish.And remember if you hooked a kingie the same weight

as your yellowfin Im sure you would remember how good they fight.

Cheers Nick

Edited by Nick3
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Great work Kelvin.

Ha Netic you can't compare yellowfin to kingies.There completely different

style of fighting fish.And remember if you hooked a kingie the same weight

as your yellowfin Im sure you would remember how good they fight.

Cheers Nick

Mate very true but a 30kg King in Sydney is a very rare occurence, where as a 30kg Yft is not

Dont get me wrong, pound for pound a kingfish fight is much more intense, I have looked forward to this king season for months, But after a good off season i dont find myself getting the same satisfaction i used too from nailing smaller kings, what i want to do is target some of the 1m + offshore kings which are much fatter which will give me the fight i want, I have never eaten fish and i purely fish for the fight.

Thanks to kelvin pulling in that 1 metre speciman i have some hope that i may find some biggens in our estuary and thats the reason why i will continue to try in and around middle harbour in hope of nailing some of the 10kg plus ones that have been spotted.

I would rather catch 1 x 10kg King then 15 x 70cm Kings.

Edited by netic
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HI Netic :1prop:

I hope you didn't take my comment the wrong way as I wasn't

trying to be a smartie.

I wish we did get bigger kingie's more often in Sydney.It's just that

yellowfin are runners and fight clean and a kingie of that size are brawlers and

would try to wipe you out straight away.

They are both magical fish but different in character.

Cheers Nick

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Hey Netic leave some of those hoodlums for me!!!

By the way the last 20kg kingie I got fought like a something else. It felt like you were attached to a V8 supercar! The power that these fish generate is something else.

I love yellowfin and kingies. Kingfish are body punchers and fin are runners. It a shame that you don't eat fish Netic but fin are very nice. I guess kingies are our inshore game fish and their popularity is due to the fact that they live right here in metro Sydney. We live in a great place as there can't be too many places where you can pull out fish like this in sight of the opera house!!! Cheers Kelvin

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