namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Hi raiders. Just thought I put in a report for a change! I had been Missing IN action for a week or so. Didn't post my last 3 outings! I woke up this morning to be greeted by a howling southerly. My number 1 son was very keen to go so hitched the boat and went out to Pittwater. Like ususal we tried to spot any surface action but the wind had put the kings down. THere were however, LOTS of salmon working out in Broken Bay. There were just lots and lots of birds and salmon and not many boats working them. We had fun for about 30 minutes before the wind and the boats got the better of the salmon. We tried to source some squid but the wind was a consistent 20-30knots. This makes it difficult to catch squid. Wind is probably the worst thing for squidding. After about an hour we had a few in the tank. There are still lots of little squid around and they are very shy of jigs. They just touch the jigs and take off! ..bastards! Can't wait for them to grow up. I had a couple of hiccups with equipment today as my electric motor packed up, my Daiwa certate reel cover came loose and fell overboard and my favourite squid jig died....the lead in the chin fell off! Offshore was not an option today with the wind so we decided to try inside pittwater. There are times when you get a real gut feeling about where the fish are or perhaps it was the pizza that I ate last night...but I wanted to try a weed edge. I sounded around and sure enough I picked up some kings on the sounder just where they should have been. I set up the downrigger with one of the squid and it must have fallen into the throat of a kingie. As soon as I had time to put the rod into the holder, it took OFF I was using my new Shimano Torsa and the reel just screamed. My son wanted to catch this one and he LOVED the Torsa as much as I did and got the fish into the boat after a pretty good fight. The fish was 82cm. This reel is my ideal downrigging, jigging, livebaiting and trolling reel......so smoooth! Of course when you find the fish you set another bait out. The next squid didn't live long. Perhaps it lived about 3 minutes but got smashed by another kingie. I got permission from the captain to land this fish. It was a little better at 86cm By now it was obvious there was a school of kings there. We only had one more squid and that was also smashed in quick time. It was also a fish about 80cm. Once we exhuasted all the squid, it was to either get more squid...not a good idea with all this wind around, use lures or go home. Due to the fairly shallow nature of this area, I used a bibbed minnow and trolled. The lure got eaten within seconds. The fish turned out to be a small fish of 61cm. I trolled this area several more times for more small kings. It seemed like the lure only attracted the rats. I called it quits when we didn't get a strike for 10 minutes. Got back to the ramp, got home had a shower and cleaned up the boat and gear in time for the start of the cricket...another good day on the kings Cheers Kelvin Rats like this are a good sign for the times ahead!! Good fun for the little ones and the not so young. CHeers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flea Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Great stuff (again). Good to hear a few reports coming from Pittie of som good kingy action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 (edited) This is a better picture of my sounder. You'll see my downrigger and its clip as the double lines. There are 2 clumps. These are weedy/kelpy things and the red/green spots in the middle hanging at around 4 meters are the kings! Cheers Kelvin Edited November 26, 2006 by namesay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 well done mate, great fish well done for heading out in these conditions you definately were rewarded. nice size those ones taking the squid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sk. Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Another good report On the sounder pic, the bumps on the bottom are kings? I fished Pittwater on Friday, and their was a distinct lack of bait. Did you come across much bait today? Cheers Shaun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Another good report On the sounder pic, the bumps on the bottom are kings? I fished Pittwater on Friday, and their was a distinct lack of bait. Did you come across much bait today? Cheers Shaun The bumps on the bottom is the weed. There is an "ally"where the kings sometimes sit. The small green/red dots between the bumps are the kings. This shot was taken after I had caught a couple of fish and the fish dispersed a little. BUt there were about a dozen kings there on the intial sounding. I didn't look for bait today as the wind was making things very difficult just moving around. This was the first spot we tried and yes there were baitfish around. Very small ones. The kings we kept were full of these little fish. Cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flattieman Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Stop! You're catching too many! What can I say? Nice size 80cm+ . Watch out, kingies. I'm coming! Flattieman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Stop! You're catching too many! What can I say? Nice size 80cm+ . Watch out, kingies. I'm coming! Flattieman. I have been waiting to see you on the water for so long flattieman!!! I am starting grow gills....I heard about a capture of a king using flathead as bait the other day. THis must be your turf! CHeers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Namesay you and your boys are bloody legends. Do you think you boys could show me how to get onto those kings???? Wombat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flattieman Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 I have been waiting to see you on the water for so long flattieman!!! I am starting grow gills....I heard about a capture of a king using flathead as bait the other day. THis must be your turf! CHeers Kelvin Ssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhh. Flattieman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Namesay you and your boys are bloody legends. Do you think you boys could show me how to get onto those kings???? Wombat They are already starting to tell ME what to do! Cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R_Zee Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 great stuff Kelvin! i am starting to consider a Torsa! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 great stuff Kelvin! i am starting to consider a Torsa! You won't regret it. CHeers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Nice Kings Namesay,and a good report to, I like them pics of your sounder ,keep it up. penguin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netic Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Well done mate, some great kings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riggem Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 nice work kelvin & kelvin junior, keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Nice Kings Namesay,and a good report to, I like them pics of your sounder ,keep it up. penguin All of us who use downriggers regularly, the sounder takes on a huge importance. These things are your eyes. Without proper knowledge of the depth, all you'll do is lose your bombs to the bottom or fish unproductive areas. It is amazing as I downrig, I am looking at the sounder more often than anything else. Wihtout a good sounder and the ability to use and interpret it you will be catching far fewer fish. If you want good/predictable results it is no good just trolling hoping to snag a fish. Kingies are very structure orientated and hang around specific areas of bottom. Especially so in shallow esturine areas. They are also attracted to other fish and general activity. SO where there are large concentrations of bait, the kingies won't be far behind. How many times have you caught a tailer, salmon...etc and have a kingie follow it up? I would love to train a tailer or salmon to hang around my boat all the time. I guess if you fish a different technique, the sounder isn't as important but it is in downrigging. My current sounder is an EXTREMELY capable unit for this purpose and incredibly affordable. Can't say too much about it...I just hope the new Furuno is as good or better than the garmin. CHeers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big-Banana Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Mate, you've got them totally figured out! I tried half heartedly for squid on Saturday and couldn't get any but your report shows that perseverance pays! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inked Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 top report Kelvin thanks for the pics of the sounder too, your info really helps out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Those squid really are a pain!! I just learnt to like fishing for squid. ALmost as good as catching the fish but the blasted wind didn't help things. I saw a lot of people squidding today but we found a couple of schools here and there. Had to move around a fair bit to score the 3 we did. Not many people were fishing for kings, unlike previously where there are lots of people downrigging in pittwater. But we left the water early after scoring the fish. It was windy , cold and miserable out there today - thought it would rain. Cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ophet Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Nice one Kelvin, I can't believe you managed to do all that, and be home before the start of the cricket !!?? And you wife let you watch the cricket?? What a catch she is !!!! Shame about your reel cover, electric motor and favourite jig. The latter two are bound to happen, for the amount of times you use them. Do you have a tally of how many squid your favourite jig accounted for? Your point about using the sounder correctly is so true. You really do need to be able to use and interpret it correctly to be consistently pulling in the fish. But finding them is only the first part, you then need to have the technique to coax them. Clearly you have all aspects sussed out, well done again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 That squid jig was an size 2 orange yo zuri oita. I don't know how many squid it has caught but all the cloth covering was coming off it. I think it would have caught in excess of 50. It didn't look orange either , it had turned into a creamy white colour. I like the yo zuri shrimp hunter but they are VERY expensive around $20-30. Also the eyes on this thing comes off too easy. THis is easy to repair but a pain none the less on such an expensive jig. My wife was at church! But I think the lord has a soft spot for us fishos. He had a few on his side and fed the multitude with 5 fish. Actually if my knowledge of the bible is correct, the only food Jesus himself cooks is some fish on a beach!!! Cheers Kelvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luringbream Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Well done mate!! Very nice kings!! Pity the wind was up and you couldnt get any more squid. What size squid are you catching or is desirable for your type of fishing? We get big squid up to 2kg, just wondering when too big a squid is too big? Well done again! DAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
namesay Posted November 26, 2006 Author Share Posted November 26, 2006 Well done mate!! Very nice kings!! Pity the wind was up and you couldnt get any more squid. What size squid are you catching or is desirable for your type of fishing? We get big squid up to 2kg, just wondering when too big a squid is too big? Well done again! DAN When it comes to bait, there is no size too big or too small. The kings will hit just about any size. I find the big ones are harder to control on a downrigger. THe small ones attracts smaller fish and tailer! I guess the best bait size for the bigger kings would be a squid with a mantle length of about 20cm. Seems to keep the picker away and let the kings have a go. Cheers KElvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luringbream Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 When it comes to bait, there is no size too big or too small. The kings will hit just about any size. I find the big ones are harder to control on a downrigger. THe small ones attracts smaller fish and tailer! I guess the best bait size for the bigger kings would be a squid with a mantle length of about 20cm. Seems to keep the picker away and let the kings have a go. Cheers KElvin Nice advice. I've always been afraid to put a larger live squid on as im afraid the rats will just destroy it and as a result steal the bait. Whats the biggest squid you have used on your down rigger? And would you consider downrigging one of around 1.5kg + with a mantle length of around 35cm? DAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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