Here's a pic I found that should bring back a few good memories and spark a few stories!



Pic was taken by a mate at the East Cape a few years ago. The hooked kingy went 36lbs.
Just looking at this sort of stuff makes me start to shake.....

Mars

Love that East Cape region. Fastest Kingi action I have ever had was about 400m off the Waihau Bay boat ramp one day when it was too windy to get out wide. The fishng went a bit like this - drop your sabiki down and pull up 3 Maccys, pass 2 to the other 2 anglers, all drop down your livies and wait for a few minutes until the next wave of Kingi's came through. Land some, loose some, and sort out the mess from playing 3 kingis simultaneously. Drop down your Sabiki again and hope that the Kingi's have left before you hook 3 more Maccys and start again. This went on for most of an afternoon and, we hooked, lost, landed so many that I lost count. Doubt that the biggest went more than 15kg's, but hooking them consistently 3 at a time in less than 15m of water made the whole thing bloody exciting. Funny thing was that even though there were heaps of Kingis around huntng them, the Maccys would still take the Sabikis every time.

You're right thereWoody, it is a high ledge. Seen this sort of action a number of times at this spot, often with bigger fish.

There's nothing quite like a thrashing, foaming, bubbling pool of whirls behind your livie to get the adrenaline pumping. 

I have caught, (and lost), kingfish in this scenario, but never in water quite this clear, or at an angle looking straight down into the water.

Top shot.

Q.  Was this shot taken as the king was taking the livie, or as you are about to gaff?  I have had cases where a pack of kingi's were following a hooked mate, and also where they have been fighting over a livie (a 3kg livie) - big eyes, those kingi's.

 

NZK

big bloody meanies those fellas....and we wonder they are affectionatly known as "hoodlums"? and/or "brutes".

Awesome photo Mars....cheers for sharing!

Thats ones got me frothing!!

Hey rockstar - we have a system that we use a floating live bait net (you can buy them in the tackle stores for bugger all.)  We have a set line anchor and float, and attach the net half way up the rope. We have loops tied in the set line buoy rope and clip the net, top and bottom, to the rope using set line clips.

We do our livie fishing the day/evening before, leave them in the floating bait net overnight. Simply zoom up and grab them and you're away. Works great but I'm always worried that a big bitie thing is going to get to them overnight. Hasn't happened yet.

If you have jack mackeral they fall asleep and look dead when you haul the net in, but they wake up and go nuts when they get lifted out of the water.

 

{{{{Wiping the drool away}}}}

((((Adrenaline Shake))))

Lemme at'm

Ahhhhh Lottin......

Must get back.....

 

I remember my first couple of trips to Lottin and the surrounds early nineties, just at the time the area got it's first publicity in NZFN. 1st trip stayed at the Te Kaha Hotel, before it burned down a wee whiles later. Bruno who runs the Lottin Motel was still commercial fishing, the motel was non-existant.

To see a king 20kg or over - all one had to do was walk out to the rocks, and wait no more than 10mins, and one would swim by. Throw a bit of berley in. and kahawai arrived instantaenously before you could rig up.  Rat kings were plentiful. Large snapper could be targeted in the berley trail.

Likewise saw some tuna and big sharks jumping in close to the point.

The resident big king population took a noticable dive around (1996?)..which coincided when  someone started commercially targeting them out of Waihau with long lines using flying fish as baits.