Project kingfish

[faker]

Guys, I want to go catch my first king and I saw this on social media promoting tagging by DPI. Can I fish with someone with some exp on this and do things for good cause?

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02K3zKmoTn74mRuGKwPpqPAeZYfzj6bdw1eN7VBJVTXkY78t1JkhmCpzmPT5oPqfd2l&id=100077434633408&mibextid=ZbWKwL

[DerekD]

Probably head out on one of the Sydney kingfish charters. There were several operators working together to help get their clients on fish sustainably. The one we went out with several times had a boat rule which saw every king over 1m tagged and then released. Each person was allowed to keep two legal kings under 1m. All others were also tagged and released.

Went out for my birthday several years ago with same operator, a good mate and a fellow Fishraider (also a good mate). We boated 19 kings of which 3 were over the 1m mark. I got my 110cm one that day. This was it. You can even see the tag in it before it was released.

Edited August 29, 2023 by DerekD

[faker]

41 minutes ago, DerekD said:

Probably head out on one of the Sydney kingfish charters. There were several operators working together to help get their clients on fish sustainably. The one we went out with several times had a boat rule which saw every king over 1m tagged and then released. Each person was allowed to keep two legal kings under 1m. All others were also tagged and released.

Went out for my birthday several years ago with same operator, a good mate and a fellow Fishraider (also a good mate). We boated 19 kings of which 3 were over the 1m mark. I got my 110cm one that day. This was it. You can even see the tag in it before it was released.

Do they supply gear? not sure if i have something that can handle a 1m king. I am still in midst of upgrades

Edited August 29, 2023 by faker

[Little_Flatty]

Just now, faker said:

Do they supply gear? not sure if i have something that can handle a 1m king. I am still in midst of upgrades

They supply everything. In fact observe closely what they have, because this is gear that’s used day in, day out on the water and holds up to newbie abuse, plus big fish.

It will cost you to go out with a guide ($400 to >$1000) but treat it as an educational expense. If you ask the right questions, take notes etc, it will turbocharge your fishing more than any gear you buy.

[DerekD]

22 minutes ago, faker said:

Do they supply gear? not sure if i have something that can handle a 1m king. I am still in midst of upgrades

Yes they do and as @Little_Flatty said it will turbocharge your learning. We chased squid and livies (yellowtail and slimey mackeral) before heading out to the local reefs. If you pay attention you will learn a lot. How to catch and prepare the bait. Where they go (local reefs like long reef, Dee Why and several others). How they downrig the baits. How they drive the kings off the reef so you can fight them in deeper water and get a better chance at landing them. The gear. The rigs. I bought my own gear and it was a bit more satisfying a 1m plus fish on my own outfit but they have everything you require. My good mate had a very good relationship with that specific charter operator (who has since semi-retired and moved several hours north of Sydney) but there are several other good operators working the same way.

Edited August 29, 2023 by DerekD