I'm off to Norfolk Island for Xmas and am keen to try stickbaiting for Kingies while there. I have used the cheap river-to-sea rover230 stickbaits for GT's in Aitutaki and they seemed to work well. From reading over at GTpopping.com my understanding is that Kingies prefer lifelike stickbaits in fish colours (as opposed to flashy tropical colours). The rover 230's are not particularly fishy looking. Can anyone direct me to a site where there are a wide range of stickbaits for sale (preferably at reasonable prices ). Has anyone tried the stickbaits that these guys www.canniballures.co.nz/sell on Kingies? Can any one suggest some good stickbaits to try that have worked for them on kingies?

$218 for a lure! that's a bit serious

I think it really depends on how the kingies want it some days. Some lures fish quite differently to others and even by vary the retrieve and rod angle can alter how the lure behaves. I think it pays to have a variety of lures of varying action, but don't be fooled into the concept the more expensive they are the more they will work. Hooks can always be changed for better grade hooks if they are a problem. Experimentation is the key and observe what the fish are doing. Sometimes they are hard out and it doesn't seem to matter other times they can want it in just a certain way, go figure.

Nomad Lures work well especially the ulua  and dogtooth models in the blues and greens 100-125 g size. You can get the same lures just branded HERU rather than NOMAD( the dogtooth is called a Wahoo) from the States ( kilsong's jigging world  jignpop.com) for around $55 each( if you get 6-7) including postage just make sure the total cost is below $400 nz and you wont get charged GST at customs. At the moment around here the kingies are going mad at anything you throw at them just make sure you replace the hooks and split rings come with the cheaper river2sea lures as they are not up to the strain that a good kingie will put on them .Jobus 7\0 and 8\0 with at least 150 kg split rings are the best option if you want to release them easily with less risk to you and the fish! As far as knots go a shortish pr is good but still holds up in the cast a tad. Mid knot is what Ive been using lately cast well easy  to tie and yet to have one fail but only tested on up to 24kg fish so far.

Saltytackle don't have any Carpenter gammas for sale at present , Yeehaa have Mangrove studios ,Saltigas , yo zuris which all seem to be in your price range. You'd asked which were catching fish and I'd found my Hammer- head and Carpenters had ( although the Mangrove studio did well last time out ) so I'd suggested them to you, sorry I didn't realise price was the priority, when the fish are biting hard out any thing will work as photog says but if you want to raise a fish when the going is hard a top quality lure will work better.

Some good debate here. I recently started "collecting" some topwater lures. From my experience (limited as it is) with the lures I have fished - the Carpenters, Kira MC Works Killer, Hammerheads, Orion's seem to raise and attract more strikes when the fishing is tough (perhaps that is why they are popular....and more expensive) - my other lures do catch fish, but seem to get more follows without hook-ups.

When you say the cheap river to sea rover 230....How much you pay for them please? I have seen them for sale at 45 dollars...hardly cheap....They have a great action and are used in the islands with a lot of success.

Seen some nice fish taken on the action imports stick baits as well...... And very well priced compared to other imported stickbaits

action import stick baits are good and very well priced. we have specail for those. $40 each

Game fishing lures can  run into the $200 bracket , Iv'e owned a few, but nobody complains too much about that , so I don't think $200 on a top stickbait is too out there. Managed to lose a gamma105 last time I was out but it didn't spoil a great day landing 30-40 kingfish. You have to accept your going to lose a few , I've manged to lose one a trip.