Advice & Info: Kingfish from the rocks pt 3

In the previous two articles we looked at factors such as time of year, tides and moon, plus tackle and methods for catching kingfish on live and dead bait.  In part 3, we'll overview some factors that are often overlooked, but which can greatly influence the outcome of a day on the rocks.

Increase your hook-ups

Often kingfish will be encountered in pairs or small schools. With a little wise management, it is possible to hook more than one fish.

Let me give you an example. I had three guys out for a couple of days looking for some kingfish action. There was an eruption of yellowtails on our close-in live-bait, with at least half a dozen fish in hot pursuit. Within a few seconds the balloon broke away and we were hooked up.

I franticly wound the other live-bait into the same area, and it was quickly found by the school. Soon we had two fish hooked up at once.

The first fish was duly landed and dispatched, as the guys wanted one fish to take home. So I cut off the leader, attached a smaller hook to the main line and then, with half a dozen pilchards in my hands, ran down to where angler number two was playing the second fish.

When the king came into view, as expected, it was accompanied by the rest of the school. We held this fish in close while tossing pilchards into the water, which the other fish were not slow to take up. One cast was all it took for angler number three to hook up.

When this fish was in sight, we were ready with more pilchards and a baited rod, and again the rest of the school was still following. Another cast, yet another hook-up, and when that fish came in close we repeated it all again.

Unfortunately we lost fish number five, so didn’t get a chance at the last remaining couple of fish, but it was a very memorable thirty minutes.

Whenever you hook fish, always look for potential secondary hook-ups. If there is a group of fish, most times the hooked fish’s buddies will be in attendance when it comes to landing time. Don’t pull the hooked fish out of the water until you have hooked another. The accompanying fish are often really well worked up, and will not require any inducement to take baits or lures. Even fish that appear to be loners can come in with another fish following.

Poppers

Poppers made an appearance in New Zealand in the mid-eighties. At the time they retailed for around $30 each. The first ones I used I made myself; they were fun to make and worked just fine, too. We used broom-handle-sized dowel, drilling the centres out to fit wires and hooks. My favourite colours were blue and green, but I have seen poppers with no paint left on them still working well.

I prefer chugger-style poppers with a large cupped face as opposed to fast-retrieve pencil poppers. A fast retrieve is not important, but the noisier the popper, the better.

When guiding I keep a rod rigged with a hook-less popper (I am there to make opportunities, not catch fish) beside me at all times. It has a two-fold purpose. Every time we see a kingfish in the berley or one swims past, we pull the popper rod out straight away. A cast in the direction of a departing kingie often induces it to come back. Or, if a kingie is hanging around but doesn’t appear interested in anything, its buttons can be pressed by a splashing popper overhead. I’ve seen this exact scenario often, so it’s always worth trying – or a few pilchards tossed in the water can do the same sort of thing.

At times, you can also keep a group of fish in range with a popper, while another angler sorts out bait.

And poppers can be used to pull fish into range, too. This would be hard work if you did it all day, but can be worthwhile on occasions. I tend to pick up the rod every half hour or so and do around twenty casts. However, when there have been a few kingfish around, and particularly through low-tide periods, it’s well worth keeping a popper moving. If there are two or three guys fishing together, take turns.

Catching bait

As discussed earlier, kahawai are our most common live bait. On days when there are plenty around, there is no great issue catching a store of them. I try to keep them in a rock pool, and use a landing net for getting them out. Tough days, when live baits are hard to come by, are when the thinking fisherman will always come up trumps.

Try setting a half pilchard or smallish strip of fish belly under a float – a plastic clip-on float or small bobby cork works fine. Hang the bait about 1-2 metres under the float, as kahawai mainly inhabit the upper third of the water column.

I use Tainawa set-line hooks. They work really well on kahawai and most times hook them in the corner of the mouth. They are really good on snapper, too. When you can only catch one or two baits in a day, the last thing you want is to throat-hook them.

If baits are throat-hooked but not bleeding, don’t try to remove the hook. Instead, cut the line and leave the hook in place. Your bait will last much longer.

Jigs will also catch kahawai; they need to be heavy enough to cast a long distance, but you won’t want them too big. These can be constantly retrieved past the floated bait.

Mackerel are not normally caught around deepwater kingfish spots, but are not uncommon around more inshore areas and harbours. Small baits and sabikis are the best method to catch these great little baits. Sometimes there will be mackerel hanging around down deep if you are berleying, but chances are you will never see them.

Try hanging a set of sabikis under a bobby cork, where it can be sunk down close to the bottom, but must not touch the weed for obvious reasons.

Piper can turn up in all sorts of locations, from deepwater ledges to harbours. Though they are delicate bait and don’t last long, if kingfish show up and are on the bite, a piper bait will be destroyed every time.

However, they are not an easy bait to catch and you may need some slightly specialised tackle. First up, you will require a light spin rod with 2-4kg mono. Attach a small float about 1.5 metres up the line, then tie on a very small (size 14) hook. Midway between the float and hook, crimp on a small piece of split-shot. Very small slivers of squid or fish belly make good baits. Only hook the bait once and leave lots of hook point exposed.

If there are piper around, you should be able to see them swimming on the surface on the periphery of the area being berleyed. Cast your bait out amongst them, then retrieve it very slowly. This is far more effective than a motionless bait. Strike when you see a piper take the bait in its mouth.

Once you have caught one, it needs to go out straight away, so have appropriate gear handy. Unlike mackerel and kahawai, piper do not keep well in rock pools and buckets.

In all cases, if there is a pair of you with a rod each, position one live-bait in close, and one about 30 metres out, so the two baits can move around freely without tangling.

Berley

If you only plan to do live-baiting, berley is not essential to success, especially if there are plenty of live-baits around. However, I like to berley.

When the fish are not biting, it won’t help a lot, but on a day when the fish are hungry, berley can turn a good day into a fantastic one.

I make up berley in a bucket out of smashed fish frames, bread and a few pilchard pieces. I slowly spoon this out. Bagged berley hung off a rope can work pretty well, too.

You don’t need incredible amounts of berley. Throwing in massive amounts will not bring around more fish, but will keep the bait sellers very happy. A steady trickle is all it takes to keep fish around.

I don’t think berley itself attracts kingfish to any great extent, but it certainly attracts maomao, sweep and many other local reef species, plus, of course, a few snapper and kahawai. The kingfish that appear in the berley area were simply swimming by and attracted by the vibrations put out by the concentration of excitedly feeding bait-fish.

If the kings start to hang around and find chopped pieces of pilchards drifting down through the water column, they will regularly start to eat them. Keep feeding berley to fish that behave like this and then cast out a hook-loaded pilchard piece. This will often result in an instant hook up.

Watch the area you are berleying like a hawk. I always wear polarised sunglasses and a peaked cap to keep the lenses shaded. If you see anything that may be suspicious, such as all the maomao staying down or darting for cover, run a popper through the area. Try making big noisy bloops with it across the surface. Fish may show that you can attract in closer and get feeding with chunks of bait.

Should you see kingfish swim boldly into the area, get a couple of pilchards into the water fast; if they swim off again, be prepared to quickly throw a popper in their departing direction. You may be lucky enough to pull them back for another try.

So get on out there – and hang on tight!

Make a plan

When chasing kingfish you will generally be in the company of one or two other anglers. Between yourselves you need a plan. This includes everything we have been discussing; being prepared will definitely result in more kingfish.

A few anglers fishing together can often limit their equipment requirements, which equates to a lot less weight to carry. Here are the scenarios you need to cover collectively:

1) If you have two good live-bait rods between you, keep one for live-baiting and the other rigged and ready for dead baits. Have a dead-bait rod somewhere handy, so it can be grabbed and baited really quickly. Two live baits will not normally catch twice as many fish, but will take a lot of looking after.

2) Have a rod rigged with a popper handy at all times. Take turns casting and retrieving.

3) Keep some thawed dead baits close by at all times. When they get old-looking, put them in the berley and replace with fresh ones.

4) Fish with heavy tackle; you will land a lot more fish.

5) If each angler takes a couple of bags of pilchards, a skipjack tuna and a loaf of bread, you will have plenty of bait and berley without too much expense per angler.

6) Have someone watching the water at all times. Kingfish will not announce when they are going to arrive.

7) Rig a small rod for catching small live-baits. Often baits like this will not hang around for long, especially if kingfish arrive.

8) Make sure you are on the rocks and fully prepared through what you believe may be the prime time of the day. I will always have had something to eat and ensured everything is ready before a low tide.

	This article is reproduced with permission of New Zealand Fishing News September 2008 - written by Mark Draper RE-PUBLISHING ELSEWHERE IS PROHIBITED