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 Post subject: King Fishing
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 5:49 am 
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Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:50 pm
Posts: 5
I need some advice on King Fishing from my PA-14. I have been out a couple of times in my old Tarpon with one hookup which ended with the fish spooling me before spitting the bait. I was using about a 12" Bluefish 4' under a large cork.
-Is trolling the best method, and if so how fast?
-What is the best bait to use?
-Two or three hook rigs?
-One or two rods?

I think you get the idea. I'm just curious as to what different people have found to work for them.


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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 8:33 am 
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:27 pm
Posts: 731
Advice on fishing for king mackerel? if you're using such big bait, you might catch a wahoo instead LOL!

Edit for more useful information:
In south Florida we catch them on speed jigs and on livebait.
If you're speed jigging you want a MH jigging rod (like a shimano trevala) with a decent reel (spinning or conventional is your choice) spooled with 30-50# braid and at least 3' of 60# mono leader. light wire leader is doable too, but sometimes spooks the fish.
If you're live baiting, you might want a 25# mono mainline on a similar strength rod to a 60# leader to a 3/0 livebait hook and a wire line link to a treble stinger hook. We use pilchards and goggle eyes.
Trolling can work too, with say a rigged ballyhoo under a skirt or feather of some sort.

Where are you located btw?


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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 3:40 pm 
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I'm sorry, I was going to put that. I will be fishing the North and South Carolina coast. Most guys here pull small blue fish or menhaden if they can be caught. If neither of those are available they use frozen cigar minnows.


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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:07 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 1:31 pm
Posts: 21
Location: Santa Rosa Beach Florida
Kings are fun to catch and can peel a bunch of line in the early stages of the fight. I like a reel with atleast 200 yards of 20# mono for kingfish. You can move to braid after you have caught a few and know how they act but stay away from braid in the beginning if you can.

I like to free line live baits. Take a 4/0 j hook with a #2 or #4 trebble hook stinger rig a few inches back. Just do a google image search for kingfish leader and you can get some ideas of leaders. Size the hooks to the size of bait you are using. I use relatively light wire leaders around #27lb here in North Florida because of the water clarity. 27# main leader and mid 30# for my stinger rigged trebble hook. The general rule is make your leader as long as the fish you are after. For kings I typically use around a 3'-4' section of wire and a small swivel. Use as small a swivel as you are comfortable with 30-80lb.

STick your live bait about 20-30 yards behind you and get a slow steady cadence to keep slack out of your line. The bait will swim freely and get taken down. No need to set the hook. Just put pressure on the fish and go to town.

Good luck and dont hesitate to reach out if you have any specific questions.

Regards

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JUNKIE
SLOW AND LOW COASTAL OUTFITTERS
SLOWANDLOWCOASTAL.com

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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 7:32 am 
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^^^ good tips right there!


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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 1:20 pm 
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Thanks for the reply. I am not new to fishing but I am new to the Hobie world and very raw at off shore fishing. I will be fishing a King Tournament here in North Carolina within the next few weeks and was just curious as to how others view the different techniques. Having only paddled and never using the Hobie in the Big water, i just wondered about speed and other tips that others may have learned "The hard way".

Really anxious to see how the surf launch goes. :)


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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 7:21 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2012 1:31 pm
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Location: Santa Rosa Beach Florida
You wil get the hang of it quick. A couple of things to keep in mind...

Keep your drag light. When they first hit they usually wil not run that far because you are not really putting that much pressure on them when they are far from the boat. Once they get closer and feel the pressure, they will make some hard runs.

Always keep a slight bend in your rod once fighting them. Keep constant steady pressure with a light drag. They tend to shake their head alot when submerged and can shake a hook if you dont have pressure on them. Remember....keep a light drag. They are not going anywhere out there in the open ocean and will surprise you once they feel like running and get close to the yak.

If you are not familiar with the surf launch, dont rig up hooks and trebbles until you bust through the surf. You should also take them off before coming back in. Talking about those hard lessons early in the game :)

Dont peddle too fast with live baits. You will drown them and they will just turn up on their side and die. Just enough to keep a large bow of slack out of your line.

Take the time to get the right baits. Bluerunners and other fish in the 6"-9" range are my choice for live ones. Dead baits on pink and white or blue and white dusters if no live ones can be had or you dont have a bait tank.

Good luck in the tournament.....

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JUNKIE
SLOW AND LOW COASTAL OUTFITTERS
SLOWANDLOWCOASTAL.com

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 Post subject: Re: King Fishing
PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 8:23 am 
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:27 pm
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Re: Surf Launches
Practice before the tournament! Make sure you have everything bungeed/leashed to the kayak, I've seen too often where kayakers who are not used to surf launching with a large amount of gear lose stuff in the surf, or roll after turning broadside to a wave. That goes for all kayaks, not just Hobies. You're in the Tank (PA14) so you won't roll as easily, but you might get swamped. Watch the waves, time it right, and jump in and start paddling/pedaling to get away from the shoreline asap. Once you're past the area where the waves are breaking, you will be safer.

Re: Tackle and bait
Junkie is right, I learnt the lesson the hard way about pedaling too fast and drowning the baits.
Do you have a livewell? a simple 5 gallon bucket with a bubbler is sufficient to keep a dozen pilchard alive for 4-6 hrs, just remember to take a plastic cup or something so you can occasionally bail water out and add fresh sea water to keep your baits healthy.

good luck!


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