The curse of the king on shore jigging

[faker]

So as most know, I have been quite persistent in trying to nab a king on lures.

So I hit avoca rocks 6am in morning. After the dicey experience yesterday on 20 lb I went back to pe 3 55lb set up. 

Caught several good bonies on 60g jig but released or gave them away but then i got smashed by king which somehow found a snag infront  and I lost 50 m of line fighting it. 

The good thing this trip so far taught me is my technique is fine just bad luck has been plaguing my trips in Sydney harbour 

 

Edited February 16 by faker

[Little_Flatty]

That’s good you’ve been persisting @faker. You’ll get your king soon.

Sometimes you just need to pick the right environment for your chosen technique. I’ve been learning that with my topwater luring and starting to get an eye for suitable spots. Have my eye on a couple of potentials close to home.

[Yowie]

Persistance will work out with a king being landed. The bonnies are entertaining enough anyway.

[faker]

1 hour ago, Yowie said:

Persistance will work out with a king being landed. The bonnies are entertaining enough anyway.

Yea still working on it.

[dirvin21]

Keeo going mate, kingies are a tough landbased opponent and masters at bricking you after a long fight

You could try fighting them a bit softer, kingies are a fish that if you go hard they'll go harder

[PaddyT]

Landed plenty of kings on 20lb off that ledge -even got them on 12lb and 6lb-trick at avoca is to get your rod tip out when they run close along the ledge-its probably one of the best ledges in Oz for landing fish on light tackle -caught plenty of bonnies, rats etc on 6lb -back in the ANSA days. If you try to fish back from the edge and force the fish in -thats how you lose them. Get the rod tip out and the line away from the stones.

[faker]

On 2/17/2024 at 6:34 PM, PaddyT said:

Landed plenty of kings on 20lb off that ledge -even got them on 12lb and 6lb-trick at avoca is to get your rod tip out when they run close along the ledge-its probably one of the best ledges in Oz for landing fish on light tackle -caught plenty of bonnies, rats etc on 6lb -back in the ANSA days. If you try to fish back from the edge and force the fish in -thats how you lose them. Get the rod tip out and the line away from the stones.

If I may ask. How do you avoid losing jigs due to edge? Also with so many float fishers. How do you manage to fish it with out them tangling you due to current 

[R E G I C Y C L E]

Nice bonnie... out of interest what braid are you using that's PE3 and 55lb?

[Siesta911]

Off the rocks, proper drag maintenance is important. I usually set it around 6kg. I don't let them peel my line even for an inch. This set up works for most of kingies in size of 70-80cm. If give them a chance to turn their head around, fight would be much tougher, so quick reeling and pumping is inevitable. Good luck!

[faker]

3 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Nice bonnie... out of interest what braid are you using that's PE3 and 55lb?

Sorry meant 49 lb

[R E G I C Y C L E]

9 hours ago, faker said:

Sorry meant 49 lb

Quality stuff... I use saltiga on all my reels and I've got PE3 on my baitcaster 👍

[faker]

2 hours ago, R E G I C Y C L E said:

Quality stuff... I use saltiga on all my reels and I've got PE3 on my baitcaster 👍

you reckon the 12x is worth buying on next respool?

[R E G I C Y C L E]

16 minutes ago, faker said:

you reckon the 12x is worth buying on next respool?

I personally don't think so... I asked my local tackle shop about the 12 and they said the finer strands mean it is a lot less abrasion resistant than the 8.

It's also a substantial jump in price and I question how much benefit there is.

[PaddyT]

So-Avoca is a deepwater ledge with a straight drop to sand and some hard reef . Back in the day most guys fishing the ledge were pretty cooperative if you hooked a decent fish, best trick was to let the fish do as much fighting away from the edge as possible-and follow the fish up and down the ledge., When it got in close keeping the rod tip as far out (horizontally) as possible to keep the line away from the rocks helped as well. Winding a fish on a locked drag straight back towards trouble(the rocks) was usually a really good way to lose it . Standing still and not following the fish was another way to lose them. You will still get dusted by good kings but by using smooth pressure and being aware of your line and rod angles you will improve your chances.

[faker]

2 hours ago, PaddyT said:

So-Avoca is a deepwater ledge with a straight drop to sand and some hard reef . Back in the day most guys fishing the ledge were pretty cooperative if you hooked a decent fish, best trick was to let the fish do as much fighting away from the edge as possible-and follow the fish up and down the ledge., When it got in close keeping the rod tip as far out (horizontally) as possible to keep the line away from the rocks helped as well. Winding a fish on a locked drag straight back towards trouble(the rocks) was usually a really good way to lose it . Standing still and not following the fish was another way to lose them. You will still get dusted by good kings but by using smooth pressure and being aware of your line and rod angles you will improve your chances.

Do you have any experience fishing other rocks like Northern beaches.

[PaddyT]

Have a look in article section-did 4 separate articles on Spinning the Rocks . Ive fished Bluefish, Nth Head, Harbord, Nth Curl Curl, South Whale, The Ovens and Nth Whale over many years.