Suggestions For King/jew Outfit

[Lasty]

I am looking at getting an outfit to chase Kings in Botany Bay and Jews in the Hawkesbury and was wondering what class of rod, reel size and line class I should be looking at. I know everyone favours braid but at this stage I would like to start with mono.

Edited April 20, 2008 by Lasty

[pjbink]

I am looking at getting an outfit to chase Kings in Botany Bay and Jews in the Hawkesbury and was wondering what class of rod, reel size and line class I should be looking at. I know everyone favours braid but at this stage I would like to start with mono.

Actually I'd go for mono too for this sort of fishing, Lasty. The choice is almost limitless. To narrow it down a bit do you prefer a threadline or overhead outfit? I mainly use overhead gear and recommend the Daiwa Saltist. It has a lot of the features of the top of the line Saltiga at a much lower price and is amazing value.

I'd go for around 10kg mono line. If you wan't a bit more ooomph for those kingies you could use one of the fine lines such as Platypus Super 100 (20lb thickness is 30lb breaking strain) or Schnider Fine Line (20lb thickness is 25lb b/s). Remember that the kingies seem to be getting bigger all the time in Botany Bay! I have seen 8kg ones come in and have heard about some unstoppable ones too.

Edited April 20, 2008 by billfisher

[Lasty]

My preference would be for a threadline reel and if using 20lb mono should I use a stronger leader?

[pjbink]

My preference would be for a threadline reel and if using 20lb mono should I use a stronger leader?

Definitely, especially for the kings. I'd tie a double first then use a trace of about 40 - 60lb of hard wearing leader line such as Penn 10X. You could go a bit lighter for the Jewies depending on where your fishing and the size of jewies your after. I would still use a heavier leader though of a least 30lb.

[gretsch]

Why not braid? I couldn't imagine going back to mono now.

[pjbink]

Why not braid? I couldn't imagine going back to mono now.

Well there's the lack of stretch which can lead to more pulled hooks, especially on rampaging kings. Poor abrasion resistance, greater hassles in tying knots and undoing tangles, and greater expense. I think you can also drop more wary fish like bream and jewfish as the high sensitivity of braid works both ways and the fish can feel something amiss before they are hooked.

On top of that I can't see much advantage in braid for estuary kings and jews.

[frankp]

Remember that the kingies seem to be getting bigger all the time in Botany Bay! I have seen 8kg ones come in and have heard about some unstoppable ones too.

We have lost count of how many of the real big kings we have lost and we have a daiwa saltist loaded with 50Lb braid and these fish were just too strong.

[Josh88]

Well there's the lack of stretch which can lead to more pulled hooks, especially on rampaging kings. Poor abrasion resistance, greater hassles in tying knots and undoing tangles, and greater expense. I think you can also drop more wary fish like bream and jewfish as the high sensitivity of braid works both ways and the fish can feel something amiss before they are hooked.

On top of that I can't see much advantage in braid for estuary kings and jews.

Just get a long rod with a fairly flexible tip, this will lessen the amount of pulled hooks as more of the shock is absorbed through the rod putting less pressure on the fish. The no stretch factor can be very handy with kingies especially when keeping them from structure during a fight.

If you haven't got any rods and reels in mind try a penn spinfisher 850 combo, they tough, durable and i've caught plenty of kings on them and only costs about $280-$320 all up, if you go braid, 50-60lb would probably be a good size incase you run into some bigger boys.

You are much more likely to feel the bite of a bream or jewie (wouldn't worry about bream on heavier gear) with braid, as for the sensitivity then leave the bail arm open if you're specifically targeting jews or set the drag low and hold the spool to strike.

Cheers

Josh