Land based kings

[Phil.A]

Hi all, was wondering if I could grab some pointers please. I'll be chasing kings from the stones on the weekend was just wondering what an ideal set up would be. I've never fished for them land based before but I was thinking just a 50 or 60lb fluorocarbon leader to a 30lb mono main line? Would that work or should I try something different? Also would it be best to use a swivel when joining the leader and main line or an fg knot or double uni knot etc. thanks a lot. 

[rickmarlin62]

i take it you will be using live bait..depends on length of trace..rollers vs runners  will knot travel thru guides..castability as in length of rod...balloon or torpedo cork ????????small livies or whole bonito or frigates...need more info dude...rick

[Phil.A]

Sorry mate should have been more specific. Thanks for your reply. I'll be using a 6ft 8-15kg rod, with a 6000 spin reel spooled with 30lb mono as the main line and 60lb flourocarbon leader. I'll be using live bait will try get yakkas in morning and just float it with a caster torpedo cork. Thanks a lot rick. 

[Short]

I think you would be very lucky to land anything bigger than some rats with that setup. Kings off the rocks you need to go heavy - LBG rod or GT popping rod and minimum 50lb mono main line with leader double that and then some.

[rickmarlin62]

stick to the softly softly technique and you might win a few..ive lbg fished for nearly forty years and still run pretty much the same rig...tie a short double with plait.bimini.spider hitch..then join leader with double uni..tighten well  trim short..i run 15/20 ft of leader with torpedo on it..i also cut and retie trace to itself with double uni 2 ft up from hook..if you get bit off by bonito or macks.sharks..you don't lose cork..d/uni knot in trace wont break easy so you don't lose strength in system...simple but effective..you can use ball bearing swivel 2ft up from hook if trouble with line twist...rick

[Phil.A]

Thanks a lot rick I appreciate it mate

[arthur06]

Hey Phil,

I can't help as much as rick or short but one important thing to say, as well as gearing up well in terms of tackle, the double uni knot is considerably weaker and slightly larger than an FG or sebile knot. Better to use one of those than a double uni. Even a 50cm+ flatty broke me off a couple weeks ago when I had a double uni so I know from experience.

Happy to (hopefully) help.Cheers

[Phil.A]

Thanks a lot for that Arthur 

[rickmarlin62]

a well tied double uni should be about 95% knot strength..so..in 60lb trace an doubled 30lb line you still have over 50lb strength..with 30lb mainline you shouldn't be able to break it if im correct......light line is not ideal for double unis but saying that ive never had a break at the knot and im 55 and been fishing since I was a kid...rick

[Scratchie]

Everyone has theory on what knots best. My advice, pick one and do it well. What lb line to use, trial and error but rick is on the money! 

cheers scratchie!!! 

[arthur06]

Eh well. Just saying. You're probably right rick but I am just pointing out. I used 20lb mono and 10lb braid. 15 wraps for knots. Maybe I stuffed it up. Ah well. I still reccommend FG to be safe, but your choice. Good luck on your kingies mate.

[Sigma]

Hmmm, I'm just concerned about the size of your rod (6ft).

It would depend on where you fished, but rock fishing can be extremely difficult wIth short rods.

Before I bought a boat, I use to do a lot of rock hopping. Everyone would use anything from a 10ft-14ft rod.

It's not so much because of the size of the fish but when you are trying to get it up off the rocks below the main ledge, this is where it comes into play as it helps lifting the fish as well as avoiding snagging your line close in. 

I have seen people use smaller rods and every cast would be a snag (lure or float gone) or if they tried to spin it in quick and pull it up by reefing it out of the water, they would nearly kill someone with the lure or float swishing past their head and nearly killing the person next to them or behind them. 

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth...

[rickmarlin62]

double uni knots in most cases only need 5 wraps either side..i join 20lb trace to 10lb braid for cod with improved Albright..twelve wraps down four back over..in lbg I use 5 wraps of doubled maimline and 4 of trace...never had a failure on hundreds of longtails kings macks cobes...over many years of fishing the stones...rick

[arthur06]

Alright then, can't beat that man.

[blaxland]

Hope you find the fish, which I find much harder than tieing knots, but  the little experience I have had with kings is that they go hard. My biggest fish to date was only 75cm  on shimano 8000 baitrunner and silstar 15KG rod, 20LB mono main and 40LB fluro leader. Epic battle for me out of a tinnie, off the rocks I would have had no chance.

[macca02]

For starting out livebaiting for kings - i'd simplify it and forget the leader knot and just go straight from your leader to a good quality swivel, then about 1.5m of trace with a largeish torpedo float (for yakkas), a small ball sinker and a 6/0-8/0 hook.

To make sure the float stays at the top, you can use an elastic band and tie a knot over the line to keep the float in place up near the swivel.

An overhead reel is the go for Livebaiting kings off the rocks (Tyrnos 25/30) + 24kg mono.
I run an 80lb leader of about 15m using the albright knot, this is due to fishing a high ledge and allowing for the ability to pulled the fish up by the leader when theres nobody to gaff it!

[Guest Guest123456789]

If youre going to live bait nothing beats a just legal tailor. And a trace greater that 20lbs in all but almost no light will usually spook them when you're suspending bait so close to the surface. And use a biodegradeable balloon that is tied to the leader(not the other way around) so that the line pulls free off the balloon(which releases the line and separates) and peels off line from a reel with the bail arm open. When the fish is swimming away from you flip the bail arm, wait for the rod to start to load up then slowly raise your rod so your circle hook sets in the side of the fishes mouth. If you use a float often the fish will feel too much tension on the bait and spot it out. You'll feel it and see you're float momentarily non down and then up. When you do you know you've probably just lost a good fish. I speak from bitter experience.