First king on plastics!

[Mike89]

On 02/10/2017 at 6:57 PM, flatheadluke said:

Great read Mike I really enjoyed it, congratulations on two PB's. A lot of skill to land the king on light gear around structure and shallow water. 

Cheers Luke, thanks for the encouragement!

On 04/10/2017 at 1:23 AM, papafish said:

nice one mike!! next time when u fish balmain give me a call. i'll come join during my break.~ been greeting bream and flatty only lately. had a very strong take 2 weeks ago... saw a big fish smashing the bait fish, hooked on a zman grub and smashed!! and then sp gone... maybe i didn't tie it up probably lol. last only 3 sec

 

There are some good fish around at the moment. Salmon jumping around this evening although we weren't able to get any hook-ups. I know Derek has had some success with the salmon in this area recently. Yep, for sure. Let's go out again soon!

On 03/10/2017 at 9:04 PM, COASTIE 01 said:

nice report mike

if you dont mind me asking, what set up do you use

Thanks! Setup is a 4-7kg Lox Iridium and a 3000 Caldia. 15lb braid, 16lb leader. Jigheads with 2/0 hooks between 1/6 oz and 3/8 oz.

On 02/10/2017 at 7:25 AM, rickmarlin62 said:

two pbs ..awesome...nice feed from kings that size...whats next.??...rick

What's next? Jew on plastics!

On 03/10/2017 at 6:02 PM, DerekD said:

Hi Mike,

I enjoy reading your reports just as much as the actual fishing sessions we have had together. I'm a little upset to have missed this session but really happy to see that your effort in learning the various techniques has been paying off. To achieve a king like that in what has been the worst season I've seen for over a decade is a really excellent result.

I'm seriously hoping the kings will turn up in numbers inside the harbour in late October as they did last year and then it should be way shorter till your next king.

Regards,

Derek

Mate they had better! Season is gearing up and the harbour is starting to fire. Let's get out again soon, I'm having too much fun with the soft plastics these days.

Thanks to all for reading and for the responses. Can't wait to get the next one!

[bojulabah]

Well done Mike - They don’t call them kingfish for nothing.

“Fishing is a sickness (I like being sick)”

[Busy-livin]

What a cracker of a weekend. You've got me keen for a weekend fishing now and it's only Monday morning!! Top fish mate.. that's awesome

[Ledge]

Mate, congratulations, that's awesome. What's the secret to the fight? The few times I've hooked a decent king on light gear, it's just taken off in a straight line and hasn't stopped until it's found its way to structure and busted me off. Is it just luck of where it runs or is there something that can be done to stop the run or steer it away from structure?

[marks1984]

Awesome catch mate

[DerekD]

3 hours ago, Ledge said:

Mate, congratulations, that's awesome. What's the secret to the fight? The few times I've hooked a decent king on light gear, it's just taken off in a straight line and hasn't stopped until it's found its way to structure and busted me off. Is it just luck of where it runs or is there something that can be done to stop the run or steer it away from structure?

Some luck involved but I've landed enough on light gear (4lb PowerPro with 6 to 10lb leader depending on where I am fishing) to know it can be done. As they are peeling off line gradually tighten (a few clicks at a time) the drag to slow them down without panicking them - lift then wind to get line back and the runs should get shorter each time. You can feel them settling in for a run and when this happens you can change angle of rod a few times to throw off their rhythm. If they are heading towards structure you can flick the bail arm and free spool till they swim away from structure. It feels wrong but works often enough. Danger point is when you get them close to where you are. When they see the boat they will usually run again - I back the drag off a few clicks before this point to reduce the chance of breaking the line. If you are on the shore or a wharf identify potential bust off points beforehand so you can keep them away as best you can. When they are close I take a few winds on to get the rod tip close to the water which means I can quickly put some pressure on by lifting the rod. Keep them off balance by turning their nose by pulling sideways with the rod. Don't let them get the momentum up for a straight run. If you are not on stupidly light gear then see if you can get enough of their head out of the water so they can't get as much oxygen through their gills. Ideally you want them exhausted before you get close to structure. Shore based landing 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 of every king hooked is about the norm for the group I fish with (this includes pulled hooks and bust offs).

Edited October 16, 2017 by DerekD

[nutsaboutfishing]

3 hours ago, DerekD said:

Some luck involved but I've landed enough on light gear (4lb PowerPro with 6 to 10lb leader depending on where I am fishing) to know it can be done. As they are peeling off line gradually tighten (a few clicks at a time) the drag to slow them down without panicking them - lift then wind to get line back and the runs should get shorter each time. You can feel them settling in for a run and when this happens you can change angle of rod a few times to throw off their rhythm. If they are heading towards structure you can flick the bail arm and free spool till they swim away from structure. It feels wrong but works often enough. Danger point is when you get them close to where you are. When they see the boat they will usually run again - I back the drag off a few clicks before this point to reduce the chance of breaking the line. If you are on the shore or a wharf identify potential bust off points beforehand so you can keep them away as best you can. When they are close I take a few winds on to get the rod tip close to the water which means I can quickly put some pressure on by lifting the rod. Keep them off balance by turning their nose by pulling sideways with the rod. Don't let them get the momentum up for a straight run. If you are not on stupidly light gear then see if you can get enough of their head out of the water so they can't get as much oxygen through their gills. Ideally you want them exhausted before you get close to structure. Shore based landing 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 of every king hooked is about the norm for the group I fish with (this includes pulled hooks and bust offs).

thanks for the great advice derek. one of the main reasons FR is such a great site!!

[Shawn the fisho]

Wow great effort on the light gear!! Well done on the pb's ??????

[Ledge]

1 hour ago, nutsaboutfishing said:

thanks for the great advice derek. one of the main reasons FR is such a great site!!

Agreed. Thanks Derek. I'm land based and have landed lots of rats but never managed to subdue a hoodlum during its first run. Opening the bail arm is an interesting technique. I've heard of that before but have never had the guts to actually try it when I'm on a good fish. Will hopefully get the chance to try your tips this weekend!

[ARC H]

6 hours ago, DerekD said:

Some luck involved but I've landed enough on light gear (4lb PowerPro with 6 to 10lb leader depending on where I am fishing) to know it can be done. As they are peeling off line gradually tighten (a few clicks at a time) the drag to slow them down without panicking them - lift then wind to get line back and the runs should get shorter each time. You can feel them settling in for a run and when this happens you can change angle of rod a few times to throw off their rhythm. If they are heading towards structure you can flick the bail arm and free spool till they swim away from structure. It feels wrong but works often enough. Danger point is when you get them close to where you are. When they see the boat they will usually run again - I back the drag off a few clicks before this point to reduce the chance of breaking the line. If you are on the shore or a wharf identify potential bust off points beforehand so you can keep them away as best you can. When they are close I take a few winds on to get the rod tip close to the water which means I can quickly put some pressure on by lifting the rod. Keep them off balance by turning their nose by pulling sideways with the rod. Don't let them get the momentum up for a straight run. If you are not on stupidly light gear then see if you can get enough of their head out of the water so they can't get as much oxygen through their gills. Ideally you want them exhausted before you get close to structure. Shore based landing 1 in 2 or 1 in 3 of every king hooked is about the norm for the group I fish with (this includes pulled hooks and bust offs).

Awesome advice it happens to me a fair bit so ill try this

cheers

[Mike89]

Derek has offered up some great advice there from his wealth of experience picking up kingies on the light gear.

For me I think it was a combination of luck and staying level-headed and not trying to bring it under complete control in the first few runs. I think Jon D mentioned once that he tells his kids that the harder you fight a king the harder the fish will fight you. It suddenly came to me while I had the fish on the line and so tried not to be too aggressive with the strike and with steering.

Been back a couple of times with the same jerk shad on the same jighead chasing another one.

Edited October 16, 2017 by Mike89