Kingies In The Wind

[namesay]

Don't be afraid to put out a BIG bait. Just understand that big baits attract big fish. You will get more strikes from a smaller bait but gotta ask yourself if you want greater numbers or bigger fish. SOme of the jewie guys around here do not hesitate putting out a HUGE bait for the monsters.

Also the big bait will attract fish to your boat and if you have 2 lines out, it will atract fish to the other line.

I find that big squid live longer and survive the whole day. The little ones kark it real quick. The only down side is that the bigger baits pull more drag and you need to adjust the downrigger weights and clipping mechanisms.

A couple of reports ago, I showed a photo of a kingie about 70cm which took a squid about 40cm!!! The fish was released and I got my bait back..caught another fish on the squid.

However, this BIG bait theory doesn't work well with yakkas!!! Be warned large yakkas are lively and they are also very spiky. WHenever I catch yakkas, I have lots of small cuts and nicks on my hands from handling them. I am sure the kingies find them really difficult to handle as well.

I often see kingies just following large yakkas set as bait. They just look at it and look at it and refuse to strike. The yakka is having heart attacks but doesn't get eaten. I often toss the large ones back as they are useless for me as bait. Just keep the small ones. The smaller the better! CHeers Kelvin

[Martin]

As usual, awesome fishing. Should not be long before the sons take on the skipper role and Dad is relegated to deck hand and galley cook.

Cheers

[kantong]

great work again Kelvin.

Its very nice to see you share you info on how to catch kings too.

Top bloke

[kilp]

Don't be afraid to put out a BIG bait. Just understand that big baits attract big fish. You will get more strikes from a smaller bait but gotta ask yourself if you want greater numbers or bigger fish. SOme of the jewie guys around here do not hesitate putting out a HUGE bait for the monsters.

Also the big bait will attract fish to your boat and if you have 2 lines out, it will atract fish to the other line.

I find that big squid live longer and survive the whole day. The little ones kark it real quick. The only down side is that the bigger baits pull more drag and you need to adjust the downrigger weights and clipping mechanisms.

A couple of reports ago, I showed a photo of a kingie about 70cm which took a squid about 40cm!!! The fish was released and I got my bait back..caught another fish on the squid.

However, this BIG bait theory doesn't work well with yakkas!!! Be warned large yakkas are lively and they are also very spiky. WHenever I catch yakkas, I have lots of small cuts and nicks on my hands from handling them. I am sure the kingies find them really difficult to handle as well.

I often see kingies just following large yakkas set as bait. They just look at it and look at it and refuse to strike. The yakka is having heart attacks but doesn't get eaten. I often toss the large ones back as they are useless for me as bait. Just keep the small ones. The smaller the better! CHeers Kelvin

As always my friend, great report, great fish. Good to see your little one has a great time

cheers

kilp

[namesay]

As usual, awesome fishing. Should not be long before the sons take on the skipper role and Dad is relegated to deck hand and galley cook.

Cheers

I am already the deckie...they have been telling me what to do for a while now. I just steer the boat! Cheers Kelvin

[ko76]

Don't be afraid to put out a BIG bait. Just understand that big baits attract big fish. You will get more strikes from a smaller bait but gotta ask yourself if you want greater numbers or bigger fish. SOme of the jewie guys around here do not hesitate putting out a HUGE bait for the monsters.

Also the big bait will attract fish to your boat and if you have 2 lines out, it will atract fish to the other line.

I find that big squid live longer and survive the whole day. The little ones kark it real quick. The only down side is that the bigger baits pull more drag and you need to adjust the downrigger weights and clipping mechanisms.

A couple of reports ago, I showed a photo of a kingie about 70cm which took a squid about 40cm!!! The fish was released and I got my bait back..caught another fish on the squid.

However, this BIG bait theory doesn't work well with yakkas!!! Be warned large yakkas are lively and they are also very spiky. WHenever I catch yakkas, I have lots of small cuts and nicks on my hands from handling them. I am sure the kingies find them really difficult to handle as well.

I often see kingies just following large yakkas set as bait. They just look at it and look at it and refuse to strike. The yakka is having heart attacks but doesn't get eaten. I often toss the large ones back as they are useless for me as bait. Just keep the small ones. The smaller the better! CHeers Kelvin

I agree that big bait catches bigger fish no doubt. I normally fish with 15 - 20cm mantle squid or palm size yakkas. Threw out a 32cm mantle squid at North Head and got absolutely smoked by what I presume to be a big King or Jew. My TLD20 set to maxed out drag just kept on screeming until it it reefed me.

Also, with large yakkas I tend to agree that there not much good for Kings. Had small ones taken but never large. I threw out a large Yakka at Bluefish Point and one of those massive Sea Lions took it. Its true that it was a big catch but not exactly what I had in mind!

Edited November 27, 2006 by ko76

[namesay]

I agree that big bait catches bigger fish no doubt. I normally fish with 15 - 20cm mantle squid or palm size yakkas. Threw out a 32cm mantle squid at North Head and got absolutely smoked by what I presume to be a big King or Jew. My TLD20 set to maxed out drag just kept on screeming until it it reefed me.

Also, with large yakkas I tend to agree that there not much good for Kings. Had small ones taken but never large. I threw out a large Yakka at Bluefish Point and one of those massive Sea Lions took it. Its true that it was a big catch but not exactly what I had in mind!

Those sealions are a pain sometimes taking all your livies. I had one last year that followed and followed me for an hour!! I had to motor away into the hawkesbury to lose this seal. My kids love them however..they keep on feeding it so that is why they hang around.

But the big yakka theory is true...never had much luck with yakkas bigger than my palm. Slimies however are different! Cheers kelvin

[james1990]

Good report, always scoring some quality kingfish, i like the decription of the sounder picture.

Jst curiouss but whats your largest king?

cheers james

[Guest Sea Jay]

Great report mate you certainly have got those kingies figured.

Just wondering what sort of boat you have mate???? to get in around those moorings

[namesay]

Got a trailcraft 485 at the moment. Have a new Noble SuperV 6.2 being built as we talk. CHeers Kelvin

[netic]

Got a trailcraft 485 at the moment. Have a new Noble SuperV 6.2 being built as we talk. CHeers Kelvin

Hey buddy, mate wont you have a bit of trouble getting in and out of the moorings in the bigger boat.

I know when i go out in Johns Cougarcraft its alot less manuavable then my 4.80m...nearly impossible to get through tight moorings.

[namesay]

Yeah I really thought about that for a while. The bigger boat WILL be more difficult around the moorings but the advantages are huge as it will be so much more comfortable and will enable me to fish outside more often. I have a contingency plan if this boat is too big to fish the moorings and that is to buy a 2nd smaller boat!!!! I have already got one in mind just incase.

However, I don't think I will need to go to the extent of buying a 2nd boat as I have tried out this boat around Middle harbour without hassles. We'll just have to see....only a few more weeks!!! Cheers Kelvin

[cows]

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

hey kelvin great to see you out there with the kids

[cows]

hey kelvin great to see you out there with the kids

Sorry i'm just working out how to use the forum. I have been enjoying reading your reports alot, so much so that i have gone out and purchased my own boat , set it up and im into it. First trip out with a mate we headed to flint and steel and scored 6 school jewies the next outing we went on the king hunt. Found the squid no problems and then headed to a spot my buddy new, and within no time two kings in the boat. We were stoked but ever since , two weeks now i have found it very difficult to get into them. I have a scotties downrigger and as i live at avalon and am a stay at home dad i get to get out there 6 days a week if i want. The problem i have is i am new to the area and dont now any spots to look , any starting points for me. Keep up those reports and pic i love em and they keep me wanting to get out there everyday.

[namesay]

Good report, always scoring some quality kingfish, i like the decription of the sounder picture.

Jst curiouss but whats your largest king?

cheers james

That is a good question as I have caught a few over the years!!!! . I still remember a time when kingfish were thought to be fish not worth eating!!! I still remember seeing fishos bringing back kingies filled to the deck..all the fish were over 10kg. Missed out on the Golden time of jigging in the 70's and80's. I got into land based game fishing occasionally and got a few over 15kg in the 80's.

Used to fish out of Narooma with a couple of mates during school/uni holidays and fish over 20kg were common. Lived in Swansea for a while and we used to get large fish there also.

Then the floating fish traps came in and wiped the kingies out...stopped fishing for them entirely for over a decade! Learned to fish for flathead, whiting etc.....also dabbled in yellowfins and fished the rocks for a decade. Never caught a marlin though...or a trout!

Moved back to sydney and had to learn to catch them all over again!! This time the fish were a lot smaller but coming back in numbers. In the old days kingfish didn't make it to magazines unless they were as big as the bloke who caught it!!!Also got married so NO rock fishing due to

I am seeing the fish getting bigger each year so hopfully if we manage things right, we will have the good old days again. Not many fisheries get a second chance like this...thank you Bob Martin!!!

The gear we use now is SO much better than 20-25 years ago. Used to use 10ft FSU blanks from Butterworth from the rocks. You were fighting the gear more than the fish sometimes!!

BUT I would LOVE to go to NZ to tangle with some 40kg+ fish they get there. I am planning a trip to WA to get 30kg+ samson fish this summer. CHeers Kelvin

[namesay]

Sorry i'm just working out how to use the forum. I have been enjoying reading your reports alot, so much so that i have gone out and purchased my own boat , set it up and im into it. First trip out with a mate we headed to flint and steel and scored 6 school jewies the next outing we went on the king hunt. Found the squid no problems and then headed to a spot my buddy new, and within no time two kings in the boat. We were stoked but ever since , two weeks now i have found it very difficult to get into them. I have a scotties downrigger and as i live at avalon and am a stay at home dad i get to get out there 6 days a week if i want. The problem i have is i am new to the area and dont now any spots to look , any starting points for me. Keep up those reports and pic i love em and they keep me wanting to get out there everyday.

Hey Cows...only if I could fish 6 times a week!!!!!!

If you have a downrigger then the paces to ry in Pittwater are stokes point, any moorings, barrenjoey head, box head, west head, lion Island especially the northern side. This should keep you busy for a while!

Barrnejoey will start to fire soon and when the kingies are there, it is all hands on deck as they will hit just about anything. There are alot of rats but quality ones mixed in. Caught one about 12kg in feb last year amongst all the rats..with kingies the big fish mix with the small ones so you just never know. CHeers Kelvin

P.S you can also try the valiant wreck. IT seems like the leather jackets have F#@^& off . But there are divers there on the weekends ..caught a 10kg fish there in March .

Edited November 28, 2006 by namesay

[cows]

Hey Cows...only if I could fish 6 times a week!!!!!!

If you have a downrigger then the paces to ry in Pittwater are stokes point, any moorings, barrenjoey head, box head, west head, lion Island especially the northern side. This should keep you busy for a while!

Barrnejoey will start to fire soon and when the kingies are there, it is all hands on deck as they will hit just about anything. There are alot of rats but quality ones mixed in. Caught one about 12kg in feb last year amongst all the rats..with kingies the big fish mix with the small ones so you just never know. CHeers Kelvin

P.S you can also try the valiant wreck. IT seems like the leather jackets have F#@^& off . But there are divers there on the weekends ..caught a 10kg fish there in March .

Thanks kelvin, that gives me a start. What boat do you fish from, i will keep an eye out for you and the kids. I have 3 myself 7, 6 and 2, all girls. The 6 & 7 year olds love coming out its great for them, they have only ever caught baby snapper but i look forward to them landing there first real one . thanks again and keep us posted.

[namesay]

Thanks kelvin, that gives me a start. What boat do you fish from, i will keep an eye out for you and the kids. I have 3 myself 7, 6 and 2, all girls. The 6 & 7 year olds love coming out its great for them, they have only ever caught baby snapper but i look forward to them landing there first real one . thanks again and keep us posted.

Have a white trailcraft 485 at the moment. Please say Hi Cheers Kelvin