Kingfish

[Ali2196]

Hey guys, it’s that time of the year where the kings start to fire up and come in closer. I’ve probably been out spinning for kings 8 times within the past month with not even a single hit. I mainly fish the northern beaches but I did a little trip up north to pink caves yesterday. Not a single hit for 5 hours and I was there from 6am. I went past Avoca on the way back with no luck again. Usually I’m okay with no fish as I just love being on the water but I’m just really confused on why it’s been this dead lately? Could I just be very unlucky or it’s got something to do with the weather? Would appreciate any help thanks!

Edited December 30, 2021 by Ali2196

[SabikiFishing]

Hi Ali,

You are not along, I have been feeling the same thing for th past two week. Kingie activity has definitly been low from a land base perspective.

a few little bust up has been seen on the patoon near the spit bridge rowing club but no bites.

I feel like this season has been too wet and the water temparature is still too low. With again another week long rain predicted, we might need to wait until late Jan to early Feb to see decent Kingie runs,

[Rebel]

Ask @Picklesabout Kingies. He will advise you.

Cheers.

[Pickles]

Hi Ali’ Kings have been really on and off in past few months. Yesterday I tried 8 of my “go to” spots, both inside the harbour & off shore for a 🍩. I spoke directly with 4 of my buddies (charter operators) and also noticed 3 of the offshore operators inside the harbour, which means they we’re getting nothing offshore or they wouldn’t come in. 2 other mates were also offshore and also got nothing. On Sunday however (when I was at church), 6 fish over 90cm were caught amongst 3 boats at same inshore locations.

water temp is between 23-25degrees so they should be going nuts everywhere. So a crazy period.

hope this helps

[PaddyT]

One of those years i reckon- water temps are already really high for this time of the year-24.8 in the harbour the other day, same in Pittwater. I guess thats what keeps us interested-we dont know it all. BTW water temps arent the be all and end all for kings, current and bait are the best indicators IMHO . 

[DerekD]

I remember the golden years from 2010 to 2013. You couldn't put a squid bait in the water for longer than half an hour before hooking up a king at times. When out on the kayak you would see several schools busting up in most areas.

Each year for the last few years I think it can't get worse but it seems to. Only the odd splash or school here and there.

Went out on a boat on the weekend from Rozelle all the way down to Bradleys head and did see the usual off limits school underneath the harbour bridge and one other school near Sirius cove.

I'd love to get the data for those three golden summers of fishing and see if it was current or water temperatures or rain or something else. I do see big schools of baitfish each season so I know it is not that - the food is around.

[DerekD]

1 minute ago, motiondave said:

What about how many more people are fishing since then as well....

I'm almost certain that is not the issue. Unless they are being netted before they even to Sydney.

Even 5 or 6 years ago I used to head down to the water and I would see several intermittent bust ups in the areas I was fishing. If I saw those then I was pretty sure I was going to hook into a king. My iceberg theory is you only see about 10% of what is going on at the surface. So if there was feeding on the surface there were way more fish in the area. I was getting 1, 2, 3 or 4 kings shorebased every session.

Now when I head to the water I'm seeing maybe 1 or 2 splashes from a single fish in several hours of fishing. They are around but not in the numbers we have seen in the past. 

Many of those kings would be undersized so should be being released. While there are people out there that are very consistent at catching them most casual fishers shouldn't be making a dent in the numbers.

[PaddyT]

I think their habits change when they are under a bit of pressure , in my lifetime the harbour has gone from a polluted dump to a very good fishery-especially when the pros got removed-kingie bust ups are pretty subtle thing most of the time and they can move long distances in short periods of time, the last couple of years has seen a pretty big increase in boat traffic (especially summer) and lots of folk who drive their boats straight through surface action without a second thought. 

I still have plenty of 30-50+ sessions on kings at this time of the year -year in year out-BUT offshore-because i like being offshore away from the crowds(well most of them anyway)-but summer in the harbour is always a bit tricky. Pickles still brains them in the harbour -but as weve all said we dont know all the answers, im guessing its just a slow season. Ive had two cracks at them since lockdown ended (last year i was working in Qld)-had a 20plus session (all rats) with my son and Pickles and a 2 fish session the other day (it was slow). Still reckon the best months for better fish are usually Oct/Nov then again Mar-May inshore and August on the deep reefs.

One bad season does not make a bad fishery.

[slowjigger]

1 hour ago, motiondave said:

What about how many more people are fishing since then as well....

I don't think participation has changed much if you look at the official figures. There was a size limit increase from 60 to 65 cm which would have helped stocks (I don't remember which year). 

[kingie chaser]

They are still out there.

 

Also its a know fact that since covid started boat sales & fishing licences have increase exponentially, just like camping gear & caravan sales.

What else could you do??

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-17/more-fishing-and-boating-leads-to-maritime-safety-warning/100628498

[DerekD]

On 1/5/2022 at 3:46 PM, kingie chaser said:

Also its a know fact that since covid started boat sales & fishing licences have increase exponentially, just like camping gear & caravan sales.

While there are increased numbers of people on the water and fishing I still don't think that would have a huge impact on kingfish numbers we are seeing.

There is an expression that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish. While I believe it is over the top there is also a degree of truth. Many of the new anglers (mostly falling in the 90%) don't have the experience of those (say the 10%) who have been chasing them for years. While they might luck onto the odd kingfish and even land them I'd say most of what they would be catching is the undersized bread and butter species.

To put it another way, while the amount of people in the 90% pool may have increased noticeably the people in the 10% pool are probably the same passionate anglers who cracked the code years ago and are pulling in (and probably releasing) similar numbers each year. The 90% would add to the annual number of overall kings being caught but not substantially.

If I had to call it I feel I am seeing about 1/10th of the kings I expect to see at this time of the year in Sydney harbour. When we went out on Saturday we saw maybe two bust ups where we would previously see 6 or 7 schools feeding in just the Athol bay area alone.

[Ex pro]

Low salinity,,go out the seamounts theyll be covered in kingfish,,look around reefs offshore that usually arent known for kingfish that are holding bait,,what youve all been doin the last 5 or 6 years before the the floods was all according to high salinity waters inshore due to years of drought,,thats all changed the last year

[big Neil]

7 hours ago, Ex pro said:

Low salinity,,go out the seamounts theyll be covered in kingfish,,look around reefs offshore that usually arent known for kingfish that are holding bait,,what youve all been doin the last 5 or 6 years before the the floods was all according to high salinity waters inshore due to years of drought,,thats all changed the last year

That's a very different viewpoint from the general assumptions up for consideration. I know little about the habits of Kingfish, but it sounds valid to me. Your experience allows you to offer a different perspective on the issue. Thanks for sharing it. bn

[kingie chaser]

8 hours ago, DerekD said:

While there are increased numbers of people on the water and fishing I still don't think that would have a huge impact on kingfish numbers we are seeing.

I wasn't suggesting anything other than replying to the statement that "I don't think participation has changed much if you look at the official figures".

[Ex pro]

12 hours ago, DerekD said:

While there are increased numbers of people on the water and fishing I still don't think that would have a huge impact on kingfish numbers we are seeing.

There is an expression that 10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish. While I believe it is over the top there is also a degree of truth. Many of the new anglers (mostly falling in the 90%) don't have the experience of those (say the 10%) who have been chasing them for years. While they might luck onto the odd kingfish and even land them I'd say most of what they would be catching is the undersized bread and butter species.

To put it another way, while the amount of people in the 90% pool may have increased noticeably the people in the 10% pool are probably the same passionate anglers who cracked the code years ago and are pulling in (and probably releasing) similar numbers each year. The 90% would add to the annual number of overall kings being caught but not substantially.

If I had to call it I feel I am seeing about 1/10th of the kings I expect to see at this time of the year in Sydney harbour. When we went out on Saturday we saw maybe two bust ups where we would previously see 6 or 7 schools feeding in just the Athol bay area alone.

Theyre more than likely feeding underneath the mixing water ,chuck your stickbaits in the bin,tune your sounder n find the thermocline in the water column n tow your baits at that depth n under

[Ali2196]

Thank you for all the replies guys. I managed to catch my first king this season in the harbour Which went 65. With all the rain we’ve had it’s likely that has to do with it.. I’ll be noting down some intel for further seasons to come 

[slowjigger]

On 1/7/2022 at 6:38 AM, kingie chaser said:

I wasn't suggesting anything other than replying to the statement that "I don't think participation has changed much if you look at the official figures".

Your link seems to refer mostly to Nth Qld. I didn't see anything about an increase in fishing licences, especially for NSW. Boat sales are up probably due to international travel being off limits - people spending  their money on something they can use locally. This doesn't necessarily corelate to increased participation - they might just be upgrading their boat or were previously fishing from the shore.

[yo_jono]

On 1/6/2022 at 9:58 PM, Ex pro said:

Low salinity,,go out the seamounts theyll be covered in kingfish,,look around reefs offshore that usually arent known for kingfish that are holding bait,,what youve all been doin the last 5 or 6 years before the the floods was all according to high salinity waters inshore due to years of drought,,thats all changed the last year

Was about the write the same thing mate, The best fishing I can remember was during the big drought!

Spend alot of time on the Hawkesbury, The muddies, flatties and Jew were absolutely going nuts!

[Ex pro]

3 hours ago, yo_jono said:

Was about the write the same thing mate, The best fishing I can remember was during the big drought!

Spend alot of time on the Hawkesbury, The muddies, flatties and Jew were absolutely going nuts!

Yea foodsources change n different fish adjust to this and it seems to some that fish numbers have exploded overnight,,no better time to chase jew in estuarys than in a drought ,they leave the beaches n offshore reefs in pile into rivers and around breakwalls n piers chasing the occys,for those in the know at these times it can make for absolutely unheard of numbers of fish caught from a single session,,meanwhile old matey anchored up right next to ya with a live mullett is drawin blanks for the 3rd night straight even though hes sittin in the exact spot you were last night n has been there all day with no luck lol,,,if only fisherman learnt to adjust to the conditions as well as fish lol,,,

[Dan1979]

Too much bait around, too many people on the water and water quality inside the harbour is terrible after all the rain of late.

 

Dan

[FrigateMack]

Large numbers rat kings started appearing on the rocks just this week. I fish there frequently. There haven't been any, for months, until now. Hopefully, they'll grow quickly now, with the huge amount of bait that's around. And the point about salinity sounds spot on as well..