How Do You Troll For King Fish?

What speed do you troll for king fish?

If we are using Number 1 or 2 planers, we’ll go as fast as seven knots, but we usually pull at five to six knots. We will slow-troll over reefs.

What is the best bait to catch kingfish?

When starting out chasing Yellowtail Kings live baiting is your most likely avenue for success as Kings will very readily inhale a well presented livie. Squid, Slimie Mackerel and Yellowtail Scad (Yakkas) would be your most likely and readily available baits, though a live Bonito or Mac Tuna should not be overlooked.

How do you slow troll for king mackerel?

Try slow trolling around the bait for 15 or 20 minutes. If this doesn’t work, go to the next plan. The Canaveral buoy line provides structure for both baitfish and predators. Slow trolling up one side and down the other of this line, or try zig-zagging across it (stay out of the way of large vessels).

How do you catch kingfish from shore?

Sometimes, kingfish will swim closer to shore so you can catch them from a pier. When you’re setting up, attach a light hooked anchor to the end of another heavy fishing rod. Cast the anchor about 50–100 yards (46–91 m) out into the water and slowly reel it back toward you until the hooks catch on something.

Where do you find kingfish?

Kingfish inhabit rocky shores, reefs, pinnacles and the turbulent waters surrounding offshore islands in waters up to 200m deep. Juvenile fish are pelagic, free-swimming far out to sea and often gathering under floating objects. Adults are sometimes described as ‘semi-pelagic’ and occur mainly in open coastal waters.

How deep do you troll for king mackerel?

Lures and Baits
For years the way to catch kings was a duster rigged with a frozen cigar minnow. Most people trolled four rods; two on the surface and two down deep on planers used to take the bait 15ft to 40ft deep.

How fast do you troll for mackerel?

The secret to more effective Mackerel trolling is speed. If you want to catch more Mackerel on lures, troll faster. While 6 knots is okay, 7, 8, 9 or 10 knots is even better. The faster you can troll, the more likely you are to get connected.

What’s the best trolling speed for king mackerel?

King mackerel have a bad tendency to “short strike” a bait, which is why the trailing (stinger) hook is important. The ideal trolling speed for kings with live baits is between 1-3 knots. This is usually attained by “bumping” the boat in and out of gear.

What is the best bait for king mackerel?

Live bait fish work extremely well when fishing for king mackerel. Blue runners, sardines, herring, cigar minnows, and mullet are the top live bait fish. These bait fish are difficult to keep alive. Therefore, most anglers catch their bait fish the morning of the fishing trip using either a cast net or a Sibiki rig.

What size hook do you use for kingfish?

Registered. if you’re fishing for fun and to catch a bunch of kings, 6/0 O’shaugnessy hooks are the way to go. King tournaments, we will use treble (4x strong vmc or gamakatsu #1 and #2s) for stingers on live baits or ribbonfish. Rigging is dependent on the size of the bait.

How many yards of line do I need for a kingfish?

While kingfish do not have great endurance, they are very fast and will commonly take 100 to 200 yards of line off the reel in the first 30 seconds of the fight. For trolling, 30 to 50 pound trolling tackle is commonly used. Kings have very sharp teeth requiring the use of wire or very heavy monofilament leader.

Are kingfish hard to catch?

Although debatable, kingfish can be one of the hardest fish to land, as it is commonly known to make a run to the rocks or anything sharp to bust you off as soon as you hookup. Due to this, strong gear is essential when chasing after this pelagic species.

Where is the best place to catch king mackerel?

When looking for king mackerel, good structure is the place to begin. Wrecks, reefs, channel edges, and tidelines all attract bait and bait attracts kings. My favorite king mackerel setup is a 3-1/2 Drone spoon behind a three-ounce trolling or torpedo sinker.

How do you fish a mackerel rig?

HOW TO FISH: The mackerel tree rig is used while trolling. You can drag it on top of the water (recommended) or you can connect it to a planer or trolling sinker for depth. The swivel ties to the line from the rod or to the leader coming from the back of the planer.