Hi everyone,

So this will sound like a total newb question, I have done quite a lot of fishing, but from being down south most of it is for blue cod etc so dont pay much consideration to rod weights etc. Have just bought a boat so am wanting to start chasing kingies and snapper more.
There are a few threads on here about this topic but not one that really explains it properly. It is a bit confusing still.
So...

My question is:

How do you pick a reel, rod, and line weight depending on target species?

For e.g, I am wanting something to chase smaller kings, but also big enough to handle a big king from the sounds and Durville island.
So what I have gathered so far is that you match the reel max drag to fish size. Is this fish on scale weight or how hard they can pull?

So let's say expecting a 15 kg kingfish, something with a 15kg max drag?

Then line: it seems like braid is basically 2x stronger than the mono equivalent. So for a 15kg max drag, 15lb would suffice? Or should I be matching the 15 kg drag reel with 30lb braid?

And then rod... from what I have read it seems like the max drag needs to be about 1/3 of the rod line weight?
So in this case look for a rod with line weight rating of 40-50kg?

Am I on the right page or page or way off?

I really want to get my head around this properly so I can buy myself some new setups and actually understand why.

Everytime I read something it goes out the window as the next guy loves going light and will say a 5kg max drag will be enough for a 12-15kg king.

I know there are a lot of variances, but just the basic principles. As in, reel max drag match fish weight on scales, braid match half the weight of max reel drag, and rod x3 reel max drag.

Any help much appreciated.
Thank you.

A little more information is required. How do you plan to fish for kingfish? Livebait, mechanical jigging or topwater (or something else?). 

Cheers for your replies so far.

That's where it's interesting, as I have access to Canterbury kingfish, so generally on a sand bottom so heaps of time to fight, BUT the kings wouldn't be as big as the sounds. Can still get 10-15 kg fish though.
But I don't want to get something too heavy and end up skull dragging a smaller fish (maybe I just need 2 setups). Most fishing will be top water stickbaits and jigging.

So really if I was expecting to be catching 15kg fish MAX.
I could get away with a 7kg max drag reel?
A 20-30kg rated rod?
And with braid being thinner could fit it with 30lb braid?
Am I on the right track?
Would be good to get a combo that I could switch up between kingies and groper.
I have lighter setups for cod and snapper etc.
So once I know how to match it all I can sort a few different kits to suit my different needs.
Cheers

Wetdreams for Durville you'll want a pe5/50lb braid set up as minimum, plenty of current up there and the fish can use that to their advantage and even a 15kg fish if hooked near the reef is hard to stop.  Get  yourself quality reel  with a nice smooth drag , not too heavy so you can jig all day, Trindad 16 etc about 500-600g with quality pe4 or 5 braid,  and like rozboon said a Jigstar ninja or similar quality rod in the pe 3-6 range rod, that would be a nice all round set up for Durville that will give you a good shot at landing a decent kingfish. You'll have line capacity for groper drops and can even go down in leader size and chuck a heavy slow jig for snapper/cod.

wet_dreams wrote: Cheers for your replies so far. That's where it's interesting, as I have access to Canterbury kingfish, so generally on a sand bottom so heaps of time to fight, BUT the kings wouldn't be as big as the sounds. Can still get 10-15 kg fish though. But I don't want to get something too heavy and end up skull dragging a smaller fish (maybe I just need 2 setups). Most fishing will be top water stickbaits and jigging. So really if I was expecting to be catching 15kg fish MAX. I could get away with a 7kg max drag reel? A 20-30kg rated rod? And with braid being thinner could fit it with 30lb braid? Am I on the right track? Would be good to get a combo that I could switch up between kingies and groper. I have lighter setups for cod and snapper etc. So once I know how to match it all I can sort a few different kits to suit my different needs. Cheers

wet_dreams wrote: Thanks for the reply Mason. So the reasoning for the 50lb braid is so you can basically apply 25kg of force to stop the fish? Because I am assuming a 15kg on scale fish could fight 20kg of force? And the trindad has 11kg max drag so that would work well with the 40lb range rod? If you had 25 kg braid, would you be better off getting a reel with a higher drag, say closer to 20kg? I just want to make sure I am getting the idea of matching it all so i know for future, rather than just going off recommendations. Actually understanding properly the reasons why. Cheers mate appreciate it.

smudge wrote: Great advice. 20 kg's would see me over the sio\de in a flash