Kingfish on livebaits

The kingfish.  What a legendary beast - I wonder if they realise the frenzied activity they generate amongst the anglers catching sight of these 'casually cruising' predators, their presence often drawn by the thrashing of hooked fish or baitfish feeding in the berley trail. And when they do arrive, there'd better be something tasty waiting for them - or with disdainful flicks of those powerful yellow tails, they'll be gone.

To be successful, we need to offer a well-prepared menu with plenty of variety. Just like people, not all the options will appeal (and this can change from day to day or even hour to hour), but provided there's at least one that they find attractive at the time, we're in with a chance to be dragged around by our green-backed friends.

A lot of baits can work, and are offered in various forms. This article will deal with these baits, and the rigs used to present them, but first I'd like to talk about the 'entrees' and 'sauces' that we use with the 'main courses' to achieve optimal results. This is because a livebait swimming around on its own and tethered to a confined area by a short length of line is very limited in its capabilities. If a hungry kingfish just happens to stumble on this live fish, fine, but the chance of their presence can be greatly increased by our making the effort to provide stimulae which help attract and excite them. These stimulae include:  noise, smell, flash and vibration.

Just like restaurants and cafes attracting prospective customers by the aromas emanating from their premises, we can send long distance signals that advertise the presence of potential food. Vibration is probably the most effective means, as water is a good medium for transmitting them and kingfish have very sensitive lateral lines. They are able to pick up the vibrations of struggling fish, surface splashing lures (such as poppers), the pulses put out by feeding fish (particularly in the berley trail), and those emitted by sub-surface lures such as bibbed and bibless minnows (consequently I suspect that a smaller version of the Pakula Witchdoctor - an excellent sub-surface marlin attracting device - would be effective for this reason). Another potent force is smell. While it can be annoying to watch sweep, mackerel and kahawai gobbling down all the berley pieces, never fear -the fishy smells that remain in the water are all that's necessary to get Old Yellowtail investigating. The oily juices of skipjack tuna work particularly well and if there's some current to carry this off to further afield, so much the better - especially if the current travels along rocky coastlines or to other reef systems.

'Flash' is also helpful to the cause. When the sun reflects off silver or chrome, the resulting shard(s) of light travel a long way underwater. These serve to attract nearby predators to the source as they are conditioned to equating flash with the highly reflective sides of many types of baitfish. Using livebaits such as kahawai, trevally, pilchards, herrings and piper will provide this same effect naturally (giving both flash and vibration), but a greater area can be covered by casting and retrieving weighted lures that are chrome-plated or have reflective tape on their sides.

Noise is also a powerful stimulant, especially to a curious fish like the kingfish. Some very effective popper and minnow type lures incorporate rattles inside to help attract kingies from further away, as does the range of Glitterbug floats.

Consequently it is in our interests to use some, or all, of these various stimulae in combination with our live and dead baits. In particular, keep a berley trail going as it will provide fresh baits (as well as food-fish such as snapper and trevally) and help attract kingfish. In addition, try to have someone casting a jig or popper on a regular basis - usually a few casts every ten minutes or so. You can cast lures constantly if you wish, but this can be tiresome and most kings in the area at the time tend to show themselves within a few casts. I also suspect that short bursts stand out better from the usual sea sounds, with constant, repeated efforts possibly being accepted as 'normal' sounds as the kings cruise into the area, detracting from the popper's full attraction value. Maybe.

Live Baits - with Extra Wriggle

All keen kingfish anglers know that a big chink in the kingfish armour is their predilection for small, and not so small, live fish. Although most of us choose to use only 'conventional' live baits (such as mackerel, squid, flying fish, pilchards, piper, kahawai, trevally, and [last and least] the humble sprat), they will actually readily accept anything that wriggles - but the more the better. Consequently, they will also take maomao, sweep, tarakihi, snapper, blue cod and even spotties. Keep in mind that although you're using these fish as bait, minimum legal lengths still apply.

Whatever bait you end up using, the choice of hook and where it's placed are the most important aspects. Personally, I prefer to use styles of hooks which have reasonably short shanks and wide gapes, such as Gamakatsu 'Livebait', the Black Magic KS series, Mustad 'Hoodlum' and 'Saltwater Livebait', and Owner 'Gorilla' and 'Offshore' models. These hooks keep exposed metal to a minimum and enable hook points to protrude well out of the bait's flesh - if positioned correctly. I have had little need for baits to be hooked anywhere but in, or close to, the head (with the exception of piper). This keeps them facing into the current so that they can breath properly and helps them remain in good shape after retrieval - an important consideration for those slow trolling or drifting for kings from boats, especially if bait supplies are low.

Most slim-faced baits are best hooked through the nostrils immediately in front of the eyes. If the hook is kirbed, the point and barb should ideally angle upwards when the bait swims away and the hook lays back along the fish - a strategy based on the knowledge that nearly all whole baits are taken head-first. This method of hooking is particularly suited to slimies and pilchards as they're so soft fleshed that hooks tend to rip out easily when placed in the shoulder or back. It's possible to also hook yellowtail mackerel and koheru in a similar manner, but unless I'm fishing very deep water or trolling, I prefer to upper-shoulder hook these baits, just up and behind the gill plate. To make double-hooking less likely, the hook should be angled diagonally, or directed straight up towards the head. When positioning the hook, again keep in mind that the hook kirb should stick out and away from the bait when it swims away, not downwards towards the body. Kahawai and trevally are other good candidates for shoulder-hooking.

Piper are an exception. These baits are soft fleshed and have backbones close to the top of their body, making them prone to ripping off on the strike or being mortally wounded by hooks placed too deeply. Unfortunately, they are also prone to going a bit cross-eyed when hooked in the nose, making them less lively and, as a result, not as attractive. In this instance they are better hooked underneath, down towards the tail.

Finally, pay plenty of consideration to hook size. If in doubt, it's better to under-size the hook being used rather than risk oversizing them, as placement in the bait is the most important aspect of successful livebaiting. This is because a hook that's a little on the small side minimises the injury to the livebait, enabling it to be more lively for longer. Baits that are kicking strongly send out better vibrations and attract more attention. If the hook is also hard to see, possible 'customers' are more likely to be turned into 'buyers.

On the other hand, hooks that are larger than necessary slow baits down and can be harder to set home, but are sometimes utilised by unscrupulous anglers to inflict debilitating internal damage to kingfish. This is done by allowing plenty of time for the bait to be swallowed right down before striking and sinking the hook into the intestine or gills. This certainly serves to slow kings down, but escapees or released fish have a high mortality rate. I don't believe this is responsible or acceptable.

Selecting the best size hook is determined by the size of baitfish it's placed into. This sounds simple but unfortunately is something hard to teach via the printed page. As a rough guide only (some sizes vary according to brands), you can use the following hook-size list for an idea on relative hook-to-fish ratios.

Kahawai: small (kopopa) 4/0-6/0; medium (1kg) 7/0-8/0; large (1.5 to 2.5kg) 9/0-10/0.

Yellowtail mackerel: tiny (10-15cm) 4/0-5/0; small (15-20cm) 6/0-7/0; medium (20-30cm) 8/0-9/0; large (1.5-2.4kg) 9/0-10/0.

Slimy mackerel: small (10-15cm) 4/0-5/0; medium (15-30cm) 5/0 to 7/0, large (1-1.5kg) 8/0-10/0.

Koheru: small (10-15cm) 4/0-5/0; medium (15-30cm) 5/0-7/0; large (1kg+) 8/0-9/0.

Piper: 4/0-5/0.

Trevally: medium (legal) 6/0-7/0; large (1-2.5kg) 8/0-10/0.

Flying fish: medium (to 20cm) 8/0, large (20-40cm) 9/0-10/0.

Squid: small (to 15cm) 6/0; medium (15-30cm) 7/0 to 8/0; large (30cm+) 9/0 to 10/0.

As well as keeping hooks to a reasonable size, use the lightest trace necessary for the conditions and your tackle. The poundage of the nylon trace should be at least half as heavy again as that of your mainline, with double the poundage, or even more, being necessary if the terrain is rugged and the bait large.

In all instances, I like a very long trace - the longest that can be practically handled in the circumstances. This allows the bait freedom of movement and give a more natural presentation; both of which help attract and excite predatory fish. This means that 3.5 to 4.5 metre traces should be used whenever possible, with the judicious use of intermediary swivels and stopper knots enabling balloons, floats or sinkers to be used when necessary. The swivels should be ball bearing types or the trace will twist up; baits swim in circles and pressure binds up standard type swivels. Try to use streamlined sinkers as they snag up less when pulled through reef and weed, and they won't spin in the current.

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News 2000 - by Mark Kitteridge Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited