Downrigger King

[rezzy]

howdy all.

Thought i would show of my latest capture

Although its a small kingfish,i am pretty happy catching it on a live squid trolled on my downrigger.

It weighed 15kg and 112cm and fought really well for its size.

Also got some nice mulloway which was a suprise concidering we were targeting big snapper

[cut_loose]

Nice fish there mate.

But i think you have a problem if your calling them small.

[rezzy]

Nice fish there mate.

But i think you have a problem if your calling them small.

Haha we are very spoilt down here in S.A.

Its a good king but small compared to what we get here.

[mikeh191]

Solid fish Rezzy, well done.

Cheers Mike

[cut_loose]

Sounds like i know where im going on my next holiday.

[brendong]

Hmmm looks like that hot water outlet in the background made public by the adventure bound boys....

[slinkymalinky]

Small King by Adelaide standards, Rezzy maybe... but anyone on the East Coast would give their right arm for a fish like that. Niiiice

Cheers, Slinky

[eagle ray]

Cracking king.

I used to live down in Adelaide and would spend my weekends sitting on the end of the rapid bay jetty with a live squid on a baloon for nothing. Then oneday i was at another spot just near there and a bloody 2 meter fish just swam past me and ignored my squid.

Never fished port pirie or port agusta. Did you get the jew on the downrigger?

[rezzy]

Cracking king.

I used to live down in Adelaide and would spend my weekends sitting on the end of the rapid bay jetty with a live squid on a baloon for nothing. Then oneday i was at another spot just near there and a bloody 2 meter fish just swam past me and ignored my squid.

Never fished port pirie or port agusta. Did you get the jew on the downrigger?

Didnt get the jewies on downrigger.We get great kings down here but arent easy to catch.They can be really elusive.You no they are there its just a matter if there hungry or not.Was there for 3 days for 10 min of action basically.out of the 11 or so boats fishing traditional methods,it was the moving bait which done the damage.No one really downrigs here and i jumped on the opportunity before it takes of and it works really well.Going again in 3 weeks and the really big spawning kings are on there way.These kings look like dolphins when passing under the boat,there really dark in colour.

Yes the adventurebound guys put Pt augusta on the fishing map ,before that it was very quiet.

But as easy as they make it look they stay for a week and are competing these days with up to 30 boats a day in a very small area.

[eagle ray]

My old man knows a old bloke (60 maybe) called Spiro that lives out at Port Pirie somewhere on an olive farm.

He fishes at night for monster kings and does alright. Last time my old man saw him a few years ago his last trip was 5 hookups, 4 bust ups and 1 king to 40kg.

Also pro fisho/ charter operator from down Cape Jervis way does alright on them around late march / april when the mullet start to run. He trolls dead mullet and claims that the fish avg 15 kg. Gotta get back down to South oz, maybee next Autumn after the heat when the nice stable weather patterns start and before the rain and make a stop off at Port Mac for SBT.

[dingodiesel]

awesome fish

[rezzy]

My old man knows a old bloke (60 maybe) called Spiro that lives out at Port Pirie somewhere on an olive farm.

He fishes at night for monster kings and does alright. Last time my old man saw him a few years ago his last trip was 5 hookups, 4 bust ups and 1 king to 40kg.

Also pro fisho/ charter operator from down Cape Jervis way does alright on them around late march / april when the mullet start to run. He trolls dead mullet and claims that the fish avg 15 kg. Gotta get back down to South oz, maybee next Autumn after the heat when the nice stable weather patterns start and before the rain and make a stop off at Port Mac for SBT.

Howdy mate.

Your bound to have cracker sessions living only 80km from pt Augusta,you can fish there more regually.Its a 4.5 hr drive for me and can basically go once a month.

By the sounds of it Spiro has access into the power stations hot water outlet which is famous for mega big kings landbased and the roumor now has it its now banned even for the powerstation workers.

I now fish there a lot real early in the season before the big spawning kings arive but get good kings between 15 and 20kg plus mulloway and snapper.The crowds and interstate people arrive in there droves around August and its now really hard to get a strike.On average 25 boats a day in a small area with 2 rods out per boat is 60 live baits and your odds really dwindle.

Even with crowds like that the kings can shut down for days at a time .Ive had 100,s of massive kings crusing under my boat and straight past 15 boats and not even a care in the world.Haha sorry my point is the adventure bound guys put it across to the viewers it looks easy when actually its not that at all.

Interesting you saying about the kings at cape jervis its only just starting to leak out this year in Adelaide.Places like Rapid bay and Cape Jervis were spots years ago that had the lime light for kings until Pt Augusta Whyalla,Coffin bay and of shore Greenly and rocky islands got discovered that the attension now goes to those places and the other spots get forgotton about.

Eagle ray pt mac has fired once again this year and have recently come in close in the 70m depth range and had a mate of mine who is a crazy man i must say goes out to the shelf in his 15ft quintrex runabout that leaks like hell catch a few.

Well im of now getting ready to go for some big snapper in the morning hopefully

Edited July 3, 2010 by rezzy

[johnv]

wow thats some realy nice small fish there fellas, i wish i could get some that small lol

john

[BWV]

Solid king there mate, dont know how you call it small even thought the average fish is alot bigger for that area. Pretty sure the australian record was caught off that powerstation. Top effort anyway.

[rezzy]

Solid king there mate, dont know how you call it small even thought the average fish is alot bigger for that area. Pretty sure the australian record was caught off that powerstation. Top effort anyway.

Guys when i say its small its not because im ungreatfull its still a good king.But seriously its a pup compared to the kings we get here in the spencer gulf and ive been very fortunate to catch a few really big kings and compared to those its quiet small in comparesen.

The all tackle record for kings is 43kg caught by a guy who is also south australias leading kingfish tagger at Pt Augusta.But a good mate of mine boated a king of 45.5kg on 15kg tackle in 2008 and didnt bother in claiming the record.Actually the fish here are getting bigger each season and has been 100lb fish boated every year for the past 3 yrs.And i would hate to imagin how big the fish are that win there freedom.

Edited July 9, 2010 by rezzy

[eagle ray]

Rezzy

I dont think he fishes Augusta. I beleive that there are hot water outlets at the smelter at Pirie itself though i may be wrong.

The guy to speak to regarding Cape Jervis was a guy called ben. Call the tavern to find out if he is still running trips. Every one in town said he was the best fisho around.

Was out fishing from Cape Jervis one day and we went out to this reef offshore that had kingies written all over it. The reef came straight up out of the depths, it had a large seal colony on it that also looked like it was home to jaws. We trolled little pink squids around and caught heaps of xxxos salmon (salmon schools the size of footy ovals lived here)that would eat our Sydney salmon whole. Occasionally you would get a nice slimy mackerel or a smaller salmon. I was of the opinion that if you rigged up the slimy or smaller salmon on downriggers and trolled the reef you would get big chunky kings. After all salmon is a prime bait for kingies in NZ so why not south oz where they are also in abundance. Of course sammy the seal would make it a bit hard to land one but you never know unless you try. Ben the skipper said i was dreaming but on the east coast this would be a prime kingie hangout.

Rezzy have you heard of a land based place on the Fleurieu called "the ledge". It was featured in a south oz fishing mag in 94. Here is a follow up article on it from 2002.

Russell Stuart has a lot to answer for. Having purchased a back edition of the SA Angler from GotOne Stepney, I read with bone chilling excitement the 1994 article "The Ledge".The story tells of a land based location on Fleurieu Peninsula which rivals the fishing experience of Eyre Peninsula and Coffin Bay.

Throughout the article are vague clues and hints as to where this location might be, and the gripping tale concludes with the authors advice to get your hands on a detailed map, look for the right features, and reap your reward from the rocks.

I read the article seven times, studied the photographs, visited "The Map shop" in Adelaide, and phoned my good friend Timothy Moore, a renowned journalist, scholar, keen fisherman and very astute punter.

Over the course of three long evenings we pieced the vague clues together, and eventually decided upon three possible locations.

The discouraging factor was the arduous 45 minute trek from the car across rough terrain of which Russell Stuart speaks of in no uncertain terms.

With three days to spare, Timothy and I wasted no time in stocking up on bait, ice, beer and tackle and exploring our potential sites.

As expected, the location was not to be found easily. Infact, it was late on the third day that we realised we may be close. Yes - there was the limestone scrub, "heart break" ridge, and at long last, the lone bush which signifies the entrance to the ledge.

By the time we had arrives at this pristine location we were aching, exhausted, grumpy and covered in weeping cuts and abrasions.

I sensed a definite feeling of deja vu, as I tossed a handful of berley from the rock platform into 35 feet of still blue water. Tim's reaction was similar to his 1994 counterpart, Jim.

Aghast and giddy as the flashing silver and bright colours attacked and engulfed the potent concoction I had dispatched. More surprise was to follow as I spotted a monster Kingfish lurking just metres off the rocks.

It was so large that I immediately realised it was not a wild fish but one of the recently escaped Kingies from a nearby breeding stock facility.

With trembling hands I tied a halco sparkler to my 30lb monofilament line and lobbed it infront of the snout which resulted in an immediate hook up.

I had the beast hooked up for maybe 10 seconds before it lept clear from the water and spat the hooks, then retreated to the heart of the pacific.

Before my disappointment could grow, I realised that Timbo was reeling in his second Sweep - a two pound monster which would later become a bench mark as an "Average" sweep for the area. I quickly launched squid and cockle baits and soon had seven rock cod, three sweep and a butterfly gurnard cruising about in the naturally formed keeper pools in the igneous rock.

A girlish, high pitched yelp from Tim told me that he was onto something new, and I was right. Ravenous schools of Tommies and Gar had moved in and were destroying every berley and bait we tossed over the ledge.

We bagged a dozen of each before the schools drifted by.

It was getting dark but neither of us cared. I tossed out a squid jag and soon had two of the ink secreting puppies in a keeper pool before I heard another squeal from Timothy.

A quick glance in his direction confirmed my suspicion - the Kingfish had returned.

I re-rigged with triple ganged hooks and the biggest pilchard left in the block before plopping the morsel in the general vicinity.

The result was again an instant hook up, and my early estimation was that this Kingy was in excess of sixty pounds.

Sadly I was broken off within a minute, but my heart was pumping and my adrenaline flowing with gay abandon.

It was in pitch darkness that we made our way back to the car, stumbling, panting and cursing. The 4 km hike saw that we returned almost our entire catch to the water, untainted after being captive in large aerated pools.

I still feel the aches and pains of scaling the numerous rocky outcrops and the swollen ankle where I twisted my foot in a craggy nook in the volcanic stone.

I am still recovering from the three sleepless nights I spent, sipping coffee and redbull and pondering the existence of this fishing oasis, on an otherwise barren peninsula.

Timbo tells me that it is his best ever fishing experience, and he's been on a 7 month sailing adventure throughout the top end and Paupa New Guinea - That in itself makes it all worth while.

The grim satisfaction we both feel of solving the mystery is equally as rewarding. In hindsight we have both learned a very important lesson - Fish smarter and harder, not longer.

Tight lines.

Many thanks to Russell Stuart and "Jim" for the interesting and insightful article, their perseverance and knowledge.

Written by

Ben Townsend

I never found the place, but didnt look to hard. Every one I spoke to reckons I was mad. I had a funny feeling that it would be down in the Deep Creek conservation park.

Edited July 16, 2010 by eagle ray