Kingies go Krazy at Longie., so do the sharks.

[Pickles]

Christian Buddies Steve and Phil wanted to back up a disappointing trip last Monday with some solid Kingies this Monday.  I suggested a trip to 12 Mile reef off shore as the conditions looked far more encouraging than the previous Monday - what a difference a week makes. We loaded up on “kingie candies” (lollie sized Yakkas) at Balmoral, then headed straight to 12 mile. No other boats there 😌😌, but within 5 minutes there we 4 others drifting, (unsuccessfully also), so after 40 minutes we headed for Longie, via the Sydney FAD, where Phil boated a 60cm rat. There were some solid dolphin fish following the baits, but none willing to taste the wares. Very different to an earlier trip this year with @Zoran and @wrxhoon1 when we boated a great bag of solid mahi mahi.
But after 20 disappointing minutes at the FAD, with only one Kingie and one (large) slimey makerel, we made the call to head for Longie (after boating 16 rat kings at Long reef on Saturday with @Hads and @HadsJr). There were only 2 other boats drifting the north end of the reef, but we headed for the middle grounds and hit pay dirt. Our first drop resulted in a Kingie each, then double and occasional triple hook ups for the next hour and a half. In total we boated 55 Kingies, with only one legal (which got sharked by a dusky whaler - see photo). There were lots of sharks tormenting our baits and the kingies we hooked, both Bull sharks and Whaler's

Overall we had a great day and although we had no legal Kingies to keep, it was such a blessing to have been subject to a “rat attack” and left them biting when we ran out of bait.  I reckon if we’d have head straight to Longie, we would have boated over a 100, but we’ll never know. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Pickles

[Yowie]

A good day out there Bob, plenty to pull out but rat sized. The toothy critters are a pain, too lazy to do any real work to harvest a feed, just bludge off the fishos doing the work. 

[big Neil]

Absolutely brilliant that you moved around and found the fish Bob and had a great time battling the sharks for your quarry. Shame there's nought for the table but you won't give up trying and I suspect succeeding in filling the freezers again. I look forward to your reports as they always feature different people each with their differing priorities.

Keep up the good work, bn

[Larkin]

Plenty of action Bob!
55 kingies - that’s a lot of fish!

[jenno64]

That is kingy action central Bob! Shame about the tax man harrassing you and your mates and taking the only legal!

[dlvbw]

Just one or two kingies!! Well done Bob. A pity no metreys showed up! 

[fatcat531]

Looks great Pickles! Damn I'm doing something wrong - I don't have anywhere near that much success!!!  What is your typical rig set-up when using yakkas?

Cheers

[JonD]

Its much the same down here in the south with lots of small fish, however there have been a few bigger ones that have smoked most anglers. The sharks haven't really made much of an appearance though yet.

[Pickles]

5 hours ago, fatcat531 said:

Looks great Pickles! Damn I'm doing something wrong - I don't have anywhere near that much success!!!  What is your typical rig set-up when using yakkas?

Cheers

I have quite a few Kingie set ups as I take quite a few folks out who “just want to catch a kingie”. The line is 65lb braid to 80lb or 130lb leader (FG knot braid to fluro leader) on a Stella 850, and Stella 5000, 2x Saragossa 1200s and 2x Daiwa BG 8000s, also. Pen slammer IV  850. I have 8 Kingie rods (a bit sad, but I have 117rods & reels) 2x  CJ64 Daiwa Demon Bloods, 2 x Shimano Terez, 2 Ugly Sticks, also have a few other “Crystal tips” (can’t remember the make). I use Mustad hoodlum 7/0 or BKK circle in line hooks in 7/0 or 9/0. Only use quality barrel swivels and 3 way Shogun swivels.

@DerekD is putting together a “how to” on Kingfish - not sure when he is going to publish it though.

Hope this helps.

[bessell1955]

Oh, the tax man did indeed take more the their share!

[Pickles]

7 hours ago, dlvbw said:

Just one or two kingies!! Well done Bob. A pity no metreys showed up! 

There were 4 over a meter, but sharks not Kingies 😞

[FishingFables]

What a day you guys had out there Bob! Thankfully you were able to beat the tax man and land all of those fish. You are a master boat fisherman 👍
 

[Pickles]

13 hours ago, FishingFables said:

What a day you guys had out there Bob! Thankfully you were able to beat the tax man and land all of those fish. You are a master boat fisherman 👍
 

Very kind words Jason, but we lost quite a few to sharks 🫤. 

[GordoRetired]

It' a lot of fun catching that many Kingies, even if they were undersized. Well done Bob. 🙂

[fatcat531]

On 12/19/2023 at 11:22 AM, Pickles said:

I have quite a few Kingie set ups as I take quite a few folks out who “just want to catch a kingie”. The line is 65lb braid to 80lb or 130lb leader (FG knot braid to fluro leader) on a Stella 850, and Stella 5000, 2x Saragossa 1200s and 2x Daiwa BG 8000s, also. Pen slammer IV  850. I have 8 Kingie rods (a bit sad, but I have 117rods & reels) 2x  CJ64 Daiwa Demon Bloods, 2 x Shimano Terez, 2 Ugly Sticks, also have a few other “Crystal tips” (can’t remember the make). I use Mustad hoodlum 7/0 or BKK circle in line hooks in 7/0 or 9/0. Only use quality barrel swivels and 3 way Shogun swivels.

@DerekD is putting together a “how to” on Kingfish - not sure when he is going to publish it though.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the tips mate.  If you are ever needing a deckie is it possible to pay to come out with you one day?  Cheers.

 

[Pickles]

5 hours ago, fatcat531 said:

Thanks for the tips mate.  If you are ever needing a deckie is it possible to pay to come out with you one day?  Cheers.

 

Hey @fatcat531, I’m always happy to take folks out - there are no fishing “secrets”, like most things it’s about being able to read the signs and conditions, then making the best choices.

if you’d like to get out, that’s not a problem HOWEVER if it’s my boat, you’d need to drive and be able to pull the boat ( vehicle with a tow ball). I’m narcoleptic and not safe for me to drive. I do have a licence, (but my passengers don’t like it if I fall asleep driving) due to several life threatening “adventures” (been hospitalised 5 times in past 10 years - head on with a car on my motor bike and amputation to part of my foot, hit by lightening, pump explosion that “cooked” 40% of me, Peritonitis, tripped whilst trialing my Lab and broke sternum and 3 ribs). I live in Derrubbin (Hawkesbury area), not sure where you are as your profile doesn’t say, so an early start might mean a bit of travelling ?

if you’d like to go, Kingies are on now. I’d never “charge” anyone to go fishing -( Jesus 4 closest mates were fishermen and he didn’t charge them anything to put them in the know). I am mates with many charter operators and would never compete with them as they are running a business and have overheads which I don’t (retired now and not running a business) -  but if you’re happy to pull the boat with you’re car, get the bait, cover fuel and a coffee on the way home, I’m keen. 
Best time to go is mid week as summer weekends can be nuts on the water.

Send me a pm if you’re interested.

Edited December 20, 2023 by Pickles
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[dlvbw]

I was doing the maths - you must have done around 30 nm that day Bob! That is a serious trip! 

[kantong]

Looked like a fun trip out, even if there were no keepers. Well done!

[Pickles]

On 12/21/2023 at 7:33 AM, dlvbw said:

I was doing the maths - you must have done around 30 nm that day Bob! That is a serious trip! 

Yep - covered a lot of ground, still waiting for the Dollie’s to return.