Kingy Tackle

[bigpat]

Hi all,

I'm up in Sydney in 2 weeks to spend a day on the Kingies. I have an o/head outfit for chasing gummy's and reds down here in Western Port Bay, which is:

Shimano Charter Special reel, spooled with 25 lbs mono, matched to a 4-8 kg 6 foot Pleuger Contender.

I have been told that my gear will fold if I hook a half decent Kingy. After reading a trip report where they busted a 15-24 kg stick, I see that my stick is a lightweight, and I need something more gutsy. But is it the norm to spool up with 50 lbs braid to chase hoodlums?

What affordable ( sub $200) sticks could people recommend?

I only ask, because I may want to chase Kings down here in Vic as well........

Cheers,

Pat

[Josh88]

Hey Pat,

One of the most commonly used outfits for kings is the Penn Spinfisher combos. They have dropped in price a great deal over the last few years and you can now get a 850 or 950 Spinfisher rod and reel for about $170, may sound a bit suspect being that cheap but it is a proven outfit and one that many people reliably use and im sure plenty will back me up on that.

If you're only looking for a rod, the Shimano Backbone or Wilson Live Fibre are both quality rods and can get purchased for just under $200.

Line generally should be about 50lb, you'll get away with 30lb braid, a lot of people opt for 80, you just don't know how big the king will be as there are some big and small fish around so its better to be on the safe side. I like using Suffix Braid or FINS.

Cheers

Josh

[fisherman1994]

where abouts in sydney do you intend on targetting the kings? i catch all my kings (not a lot) on either my 6-8kg spin rod with sedona 4000 and 20pld braid or my 11-13kg overhead with contender G20L overhead with 40pld braid. They have done the job for me no worries, although ive never been hooked onto a hoodlum, where can i find hoodlums in sydney anyway? i'd love to know haha.

cheers James

[daleyboy]

Hi all,

I'm up in Sydney in 2 weeks to spend a day on the Kingies. I have an o/head outfit for chasing gummy's and reds down here in Western Port Bay, which is:

Shimano Charter Special reel, spooled with 25 lbs mono, matched to a 4-8 kg 6 foot Pleuger Contender.

I have been told that my gear will fold if I hook a half decent Kingy. After reading a trip report where they busted a 15-24 kg stick, I see that my stick is a lightweight, and I need something more gutsy. But is it the norm to spool up with 50 lbs braid to chase hoodlums?

What affordable ( sub $200) sticks could people recommend?

I only ask, because I may want to chase Kings down here in Vic as well........

Cheers,

Pat

Id say your rig will be fine .. especially only for two days (im gathering by boat).

There are plenty of kings in Syd harbour that will dust you on 24klg tackle .... but 95% of em are catchable on 6-10kg gear

[bigpat]

Id say your rig will be fine .. especially only for two days (im gathering by boat).

There are plenty of kings in Syd harbour that will dust you on 24klg tackle .... but 95% of em are catchable on 6-10kg gear

I'm not sure where we are going, but I heard about a structure named the "Wedding Cake"????? So would I get away with just upgrading the stick?

[SZ1]

By the sound of thing you should be fine i agree there is big kings in syd harbour but most are in the 80cm and below, if i were you i might look into putting 200m of 3 or 40lb braid on your reel and that would do the trick.