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Stickbaiting gears for kingfish

Printed From: The Fishing Website
Category: Saltwater Fishing
Forum Name: Popper and Topwater Fishing
Forum Description: If you're into a bit of action on top, this is the forum for you
URL: https://www.fishing.net.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=124454
Printed Date: 05 Jun 2026 at 5:23am


Topic: Stickbaiting gears for kingfish
Posted By: Iriee
Subject: Stickbaiting gears for kingfish
Date Posted: 04 Jun 2017 at 11:55pm
Hey guys I will arrive in end of july for a one year working holiday visa in New zealand.

I would like to catch some kingies stickbaiting from the rocks.

In France the gears are cheaper so I am going to buy some stuff here but i need some advices !

I am planning to buy some lure and the reel in France and buy a rod when I will arrive in NZ.

I am hesitating between different reels :

- Daiwa BG 5000 

- Daiwa BG 6500

- Spinfisher 6500

- Spinfisher 7500

Which one will suits the best the NZ conditions for kingies ?


I also need some braid for the reel which one would you take ?

- Powerpro 60 lbs

- WFT KG strong 80 lbs


I also wants to buy some lures in France such as :

- rapala X-rap long cast (14 cm for 54 g)

- rapala X-rap long cast shallow (14 cm for 54 g)

- Asturie Tropic clinic Big A (19 cm for 72 g)  

- Patchinko Tropic Clinic Big P (19 cm for 72 g)  

- Super magnum zara spook (21 cm for 103 g)

Which colours are the most used in NZ ? 

- Natural colours ?

- White

- Flashy colours (pink, yellow, etc ?)

I will buy some shimano orca stickbaits in NZ as they seem really famous but impossible to find here in France !

Which season is the best to catch kingies from the shore ?

Thanks a lot guys



Replies:
Posted By: DenimViper
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2017 at 10:23am
Hey mate. The rod for purchase in mind will determine what reel to match it with. If you running pe5 -6 line I would say BG 5000H should suffice but here in NZ kingies are smart and will punish you at every opportunity. So Id say go heavy! Pe6-8 set up with heavy leader. 170lb min for landbase off the rocks. So maybe then you start looking at more like 6500 size reel although heavy to cast all day. Can only comment on BG , not sure about other models mentioned. As for lures choose lures that are not bibbed as suited more dor trolling but i am sure they will work too when kingies on the bite. Shimano ocea range will be sweet here if you are not game usuing more $$$ brands in rough terrain. Can you get some Orion lures for cheaper price in France? After all they are made there. Let us know when you arrive and I am happy to guide to some spots. Cheers Dmitriy


Posted By: Daniel K
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2017 at 10:24am
I'll bite (but my experience is limited). 

Reel size - Unless you're going for absolute monster kings in the 30-40kg bracket, you don't absolutely need a great big reel. Something like a Daiwa 5000 should be plenty (depending on what line you put on of course). In addition to this, you want to be aware of how comfortable you will be casting with your set up. Casting with a heavy reel can be quite tiring. It sounds like you're casting from shore, which may mean that you're more than likely to catch kings in the >20kg range. Not saying that you can't catch bigger kings off the rocks, but saying in general, again before anyone gets angry, i am talking about in general. 

Braid - I'm not sure what everyone else uses but I use Daiwa Saltiga 12x or 8x braid and sometimes Varivas. Lines specifically designed for casting. I have 70lb on right now and have about 350m which is more than plenty for me. 

Lures - Not entirely sure what lures all of those are, but the ones I am familiar with, i.e. the rapalas should be fine. I'm not entirely sure that those are 'stickbaits' however. They may just be hard body lures which can and will work, but it's quite hard to go past the action of a good stickbait. As you know, they have a different action than your typical hard bodied lure. I love the action of my carpenter as well as my Hots Keiko. 

Colours - depends on the day, clouds, colour of the water etc. 

Season - depending on location they can be all around or very specific. Generally, they will appear around spring time like most other fish. You might encounter more rats during this time. 



Posted By: Daniel K
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2017 at 10:26am
Listen to Denim, he's your man for all things stickbaiting. 


Posted By: MB
Date Posted: 05 Jun 2017 at 10:24pm
Hello Iriee. You've had some good advice already, certainly better than I could give. Just thought I'd add a reality check. It's not like you can turn up to any old rock, cast a stickbait and get in to some huge kingfish. It takes an awful lot of hard work and patience, and maybe a lot of walking too. If you know this already, then please ignore me. Just thought I'd mention it before you spend a lot of money. I would grab the offer above of a guided trip with both hands if I were you! 


Posted By: Iriee
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2017 at 10:50am
Thanks a lot guys for all your answers !

Denim I don't really know what to buy as a rod but I would like not to spent more than 200 to 250$ ! I saw the shimano backbone for example is that good ?

Of course I am not planning to catch 20kg + kingies as I am not enough experienced !
Even less than 10kg kingies would be great for me !
The biggest fish that I caught stickbaiting was an 8 kg GT in andaman islands !
Here in France we have seabass but nothing to compare with big pelagics fish !

In France I do a lot of seabass lure fishing and I know that sometimes you can fish for hours without catching anything even on the spots that you know to work at this specific time / conditions !
But when you catch a fish all the hours spent for nothing are gone !

I am also going to take my 3000 reel with me for softbaiting and micro jigging and i will buy a softbait rod too in NZ ! (but this is not the topic)

Do you think that with a stickbait combo with a 5000 or 6500 daiwa BG I will also be able to be bait fishing for snapper from the rocks ? (even if I know that this combo will not be the best but I don't want to spend too much money)

I am going to look for cheap Orion lures here which one would you advice for kingies ?
Which size of lures do you guys generally use for land based kingies ?

Daiwa 12 braid seems really good but really expensive too ! I don't want to spend too much as I am a backpacker fishermen ;) In fact I am planning to buy a van also to visit your beautiful country so saving money really matters in my trip !

Denim I would be very pleased to go fishing with you of course ! :)

Even if colours really depends on the conditions do you have some basics that suits most conditions ?
In France for example we use 
- white colour lures at sunrise, sunset or when the weather is really cloudy / stormy
- natural colours (blue, green, black) during the day
- flashy colours when the water is really dirty

Is that the same rules generally in NZ ? :)


Posted By: OuttaHere
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2017 at 2:47pm
The Okuma Metaloid topwater rods are in that price bracket and are very good value.

You could absolutely bait fish for Snapper with a stickbait setup. As either a heavy strayline rig or maybe livebait; might have a hard time sneaking the livebaits past the Kingies though if they are around.


Posted By: Legacy
Date Posted: 06 Jun 2017 at 8:32pm
I like stickbaits between 165- 220mm mainly silver/ white , check out the Nature Boys lures that Topwaterspecialists.com sells , really cheap and easy to work .
Also prefer floating stickbaits but one or two sinking might be useful.


Posted By: Iriee
Date Posted: 11 Jun 2017 at 3:04am
Hey guys !

I think that I am going to buy the daiwa 5000BG finally and spool it with 60 lbs line !

Does it seem a good choice to you ?
I will not be targetting huge kingfish so it should be enough !

As said before if I plan to cast all day long I don't want something to heavy :)

For the lures I think that I will buy one or two here in France and the rest in Auckland when I will arrive !

I have another question : if I want to cast far enough from the rocks to catch kingies with a 60lb braid what is the minimum weight of a lure for you ?

I was thinking of not taking lures less than 50 grams !

Of course it will depend mainly on the rod. So which rod would suit this reel and braid ?

A 15-24kg rod ?

I don't know if I am clear enough sorry...


Posted By: PE Pete
Date Posted: 11 Jun 2017 at 8:26am
A small range of weight and colour baits to suit the rod your using will work nothing too heavy or too lite.
Also be prepared to encounter large fish because while you may be expecting regular size many times larger models will turn up.
Choose baits that don't cost too much cause you may loose them, particularly around the rocks.
Same with the rod it's going to take a beating on the rocks so choose a rod that you dont mind having scratches etc.
Its a hard game fishing off the rocks and your gear needs to reflect that. IMO

-------------
Tight lines
PE Pete


Posted By: spin king
Date Posted: 19 Jul 2017 at 3:37pm
Originally posted by Legacy Legacy wrote:

I like stickbaits between 165- 220mm mainly silver/ white , check out the Nature Boys lures that Topwaterspecialists.com sells , really cheap and easy to work .
Also prefer floating stickbaits but one or two sinking might be useful.

Just saw this post and bought one of these !



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