Live baiting for kingfish
There are a few different methods when targeting kingies with rod and reel. Each has its place in the angler’s arsenal, but the one that triggers a lot of interest to the kingfish ‘purist’, is live baiting.
Either down deep or on the surface, using a live bait to catch a kingie can be one of the more spectacular and deadly ways of attaching yourself to these freight train fish.
The premise is this – kingfish love to feed on live prey and are aided in this with their superior speed and ambush instincts. They’re known as ‘hoodlums’ for good reason as they seemingly come from nowhere and devour the weakest target. At the end of the day, lure fishermen are trying to mimic their lure’s look/action to that of a live bait. Sometimes it’s just a cheaper and more effective option to simply pluck a live bait from the ocean and use the real thing. By attaching the live fish to a hook, you now have a very effective and cheap way of targeting a monster fish that may feed your family and possibly the neighbors down the street as well.
HAVE A PLAN ... MAYBE A FEW
Live baiting for kingfish can be done on boats, jet skis, kayaks at anchor or drifting or slow trolling. You can also successfully use this method off a wharf, off a beach, or off the rocks.
It’s a versatile, yet effective, way of targeting kingfish. But sometimes the hardest part can be actually finding a suitable live bait and catching them.
However, once found, (and looked after), you’re halfway to the end goal.
PLAN A
Fishing at dawn while at anchor, near structure while running surface burley of pilchard and bonito. Live bait of choice is kahawai under balloons in some current with the wind and tide going in the same direction. Preferably the top of the tide as kingfish are more active in the shallows at that time.
This option has a lot going for it. Firstly, getting live baits at this time of day is more likely than when the sun is up. Also, if you’re time poor, it’s possible to be back at the ramp by 8.00am with your target in the boot.
If you have time on your side and something goes wrong, you still have time to set another trap.
If you’re onto it, you can also strayline for snapper at the same time but be prepared for chaos if the water erupts beside the balloon. Winding two rods in at the same time is no small feat, unless you’re running an electric reel.
TIP – This is a favoured method by those who have been overnighting. They’ve caught their live baits the night before, woken up in a nice little bay, repositioned the boat off a point (as described above), and put Plan A into action. Sometimes your bacon and eggs are rudely interrupted as chaos generally happens when least expected.
For this method, we recommend using heavy tackle as you’re operating in shallow water. The kingfish will be using that to their advantage if hooked.
WHY USE A BALLOON? It prevents the live bait from getting caught up in and around the bottom structure and it gives you an indication of when there is a kingfish nearby as the balloon starts moving quickly and erratically through the water.
The hook is the most important part of your setup. Our LB Series hooks have been designed specifically for live baiting. They’re manufactured from high carbon steel and a heavy gauge wire, with a super sharp, chemically sharpened point. Use a 7/0 hook for smaller baits, and the 9/0 hook for larger baits.
Allowing the king to swallow the baits on strike is important so the kings must be allowed to run freely before slowly pushing that lever up to strike. A lever drag reel will suit this style of fishing more. LB hooks are ‘J’ hooks, so are more likely to be swallowed. Swallowing the hook will tire the fish faster than a mere lip hooking it but is likely to be fatal so you do need to consider if you want to keep or release your catch.
If you want to catch fish after fish, live baiting is probably not for you. This method is best used for catching big competition fish or simply for putting food on the table.
Once hooked, if possible, up anchor and follow the fish out into deeper water. Skillful boat maneuvering can give you a better chance at catching the beast if your skipper can put the boat between the fish heading to deeper water and on the other side shallower water and structure. Keeping ‘in the middle’ with the use of heavier tackle should see the king coming to the gaff (not a net) as it tires.
PLAN B
Is the same setup as Plan B but setting baits on the bottom. Piper is a highly recommended live bait for this option. While the fishing may not be as visual on hook up, this can be a very good technique as kingfish love eating piper.
Catching piper involves either netting or float fishing generally – either activity is quite fun.
When live baiting piper in this fashion, a much smaller hook is required but still a very strong one. Our GZ Series hooks are recommended – they’re the ‘Godzilla’ of hooks in terms of strength. These hooks have caught marlin so don’t be fooled by their tiny stature.
Matching hook size with bait size is one of the basic premises in all fishing – balance. A suitable sized ball sinker (often 4oz to 6oz) will be required to get the live bait down to the bottom, and this is usually rigged as a running rig set up – mainline, sinker and swivel, then a 1.2-1.5 meters of heavy trace to the hook.
If the kingfish busts you off, it’s most likely the mainline that will break meaning the sinker will roll away. A better chance for the king to live. Place the hook through the nose or mouth of the live bait – through the nose allows the live bait to live for longer.
TIP – Make sure you match the right size hook to the size of the live bait being used. For piper, sprats or small jack mackerel use a GZ 4/0 hook. For bigger jack mackerel, small kahawai or koheru use a GZ 6/0 hook, and for bigger kahawai, mackerel or trevally use a GZ 9/0 or 11/0 hook.
This method can be employed at the same time as Plan A. It pays to have two sets of eyes and hands when fishing two baits. Three baits can be fished in three sets. As long as each angler is managing their live bait, multiple baits can be fished which can be super exciting and chaotic when packs of big kingies attack.
PLAN C
Involves markers and moorings while drifting/trolling live baits down deeper. Again dawn fishing with a current, using kahawai, mackerel or piper live baits.
Markers and moorings in 3 meters or 3000 meters act as fish attractants. In the super-deep waters, they’re known as fish aggregation devices (FADS). The ropes or poles attract organisms which in turn attract small fish etc. In the Islands, marlin are attracted to these devices so it goes without saying, these structures simply are an aid for the thinking angler.
Most harbours are markers. Each one potentially has multiple kingfish in the vicinity so it can make sense to drift live baits past these structures. This method still requires heavy gear as on hook up, the fish’s first point of call will be that structure and will require some stopping power if you’ve hooked a larger model.
Live baits are generally smaller than surface fishing as the bait needs to be controlled more as the target area is pretty small – once you’ve drifted 50 meters past the structure, you’re now effectively out of the hot zone. Either reset your drift or move on to the next marker.
PLAN D
Drifting or trolling live baits over deep structure. Most inner harbours don’t have deep water but getting out wider does present opportunity.
In Auckland (NZ), places like Great Barrier Island and the Mokohinau Islands have deep reefs which attract fish life as currents ebb and flow around them. Using state of the art electronics, you can even tell the exact size of the fish you are seeing, let alone the exact depth they’re congregating.
Here the use of braided lines comes into play. Our Rainbow Braid Elite 8x changes colour every 10 meters, which makes it helpful when fishing at depth as you can simply count out the number of colour until you reach your desired depth.
TIP – Troll as slowly as possible to get your live bait swimming a little deeper in the zone where the kingfish are lurking.
