Usually snapper, and mulloway in the cooler months. var mydate=new Date(); As mentioned earlier, the bait-throwing rod is full of 37kg mono. There is no requirement for a reel as large as a 50-wide for kingfish off the rocks. $("#date1").html("

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"); They are also important for the next stage. But you can always be ready if you have a selection of kingfish jigs and kingfish trolling lures. When targeting kingies, one thing you discover quickly is that once a fish is hooked there is greater potential for things to go wrong compared to other species – and things can go wrong FAST! 3 members, Copyright Australian Fishing Online However I lack the locations to catch the mysterious kingfish in the first place. $("#minor3").html(" " + data[1].minor1); var year=mydate.getYear(); I especially enjoy the explosive takes, although landing one is always a challenge when land-based. $('#date_time').datepicker( var daym=mydate.getDate(); Again, a few pilchards into the water and, once they were eaten, the boys cast out their hook-loaded baits, resulting in two more kingfish around 20kg. There will be numerous occasions when the large baits used attract kings that are too small to devour them, but these can be targeted with more appropriately sized dead baits if you have a second outfit. I then grabbed my spool because I saw a big rock under the water that the Kingfish was swimming directly for. This fish took a liking to a cast plastic – awesome fun off the stones. Next to my berley bucket I always keep half-a-dozen to a dozen dead baits, a bait-throwing rod and a popper rod (more on that later, too). So to bring kingfish into your area, you really need to deploy live baits or create some interest by casting and retrieving poppers or lures. Dan snapped a couple of quick photos, then Greg released his first kingfish! { I was blown away mentally, physically and metaphorically! A trap ban was placed for kings in Sydney in 1996 and since, kingfish have flourished back in numbers. Then the action died off and it started to rain, so we began packing our things for the walk back out. Be careful though - I once witnessed an angler's thumb get pulled in under the cross bar on top of the reel, thanks to a fast-running kingfish. It should be ‘all hands on deck’ when a kingie is on the line. Please enable JavaScript to use this form. In my defence I’m pretty sure that fish was big, but the point was that I was completely unprepared for what happened that morning. However, heavier line has much more abrasion resistance, so you can often extract these fish; we've had 10-15 metres of absolutely ruined line that's destined for the bin, but this is a small price to pay for landing a hard-earned fish. In many locations (either on the rocks or from wharves) you will be fishing well above the waterline, making a long gaff extremely beneficial, especially as the extra length also offers safety benefits in rough conditions. It has been written many times before that a kingfish hook-up represents an instant quality-control check on your tackle, with any vulnerability ruthlessly exposed. Balloons have a lot of wind resistance and can wear out live baits quickly in onshore winds. } The latter aspect was particularly important in this instance: I work full-time as … They are both around 2.5 metres long. Hi everyone, Just a few quick questions. I crank mine up to around 7-8kg. After getting it in close, with Dan on the camera and Greg on the gaff and measuring, we saw it was about 80cm so decided to keep it. He shares how landbased fishermen across the country can... more >, Tony Orton often gets asked which drag system is best for catching kingfish – spin drag, lever drag or star drag. Although it’s possible to catch certain fish at any time from the rocks, some species are easier to catch during what are often referred to as “peak periods”. type: "post", $('#date_time').datepicker( On all orders over $50 delivered within Australia. He shares how landbased fishermen across the country can... more >, Tony Orton often gets asked which drag system is best for catching kingfish – spin drag, lever drag or star drag. dataString = $("#caldata").serialize(); So to bring kingfish into your area, you really need to deploy live baits or create some interest by casting and retrieving poppers or lures. Finally - hook-up! dataString = $("#caldata").serialize(); Don't try to set your reel drags too heavy. I’m not trying to put you off, far from it: kingies add a new dimension to land-based fishing, turning it into an exhilarating adrenaline sport. Fish with the reel in gear; you will get much better hook-ups than by free-spooling to such fish.? There are two ways to get around this, though. Sydney most of the time will fire with bonito in the summertime and hang around until around June. $(document).one("ready",function(){ // The type of request. { He followed it for a while, but we could tell he was not that interested. $('#tbodyid').html(''); // Clear #tbodyid div I dialled up the drag and was able to stop the fish before it got there, but this brought a very green fish close to the wharf too early in the fight. These fish will have you gripping your rod with a fortitude of strength. Or perhaps the odd one has followed in a kahawai as you reeled it in. Huge, horse-teethed, hard pulling power of a train depicts the blue groper. They are well known for lurking along ridges and wrecks, stalking schools of smaller fish. year+=1900; }); if (daym<10){ daym="0"+daym;} $("form#caldata").submit(); One rod is for live-baiting and the other is used for throwing dead baits - but more on this later. Bonito are surface feeding fish and most often found close to the shoreline, this species can really create some fun with gear otherwise used on bream. In this ar... more >. What an amazing hour! Tie the 37kg mono directly to the hook. $("#date2").html("

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"); e.preventDefault(); Then, ten minutes later, a group of large kingfish turned up. In this ar... more >. However, it was the only live bait we had, as they were very difficult to catch at the time. Miah Dixon checks out the latest iteration of chart technology – Navico's CMAP Reveal. Despite being a very dull table fish Australian salmon in my opinion are a strong fighter and when hooked display some acrobatic leaps and bounds that make it hard to stay connected at times, salmon will sometimes jump 5 ft in the air in an attempt to become free. The report of a straight westerly wind saw us hiking to another spot the following morning. So if fishing where large kingfish are known to hang out and the only bait you have is a 3kg kahawai, use it. This one was a bit bigger than his first, so upon being successfully brought in, Greg decided it would be his keeper - and he was extremely satisfied. $('#loadingmessage').hide(); // hide the loading message Initially I had things under control, but then the fish turned aggressively and charged towards some submerged rocks on my left. $("#major1").html(" " + data[0].major1 ); Better still, just as a gannet was swooping towards Greg’s stickbait, a kingfish decided to steal it first. Maomao can be okay, but spend all day trying to get back into the weeds, which can be very trying on your patience levels.