Southern Kingfish
Victoria isn’t known for outstanding kingfish action so when you find quality fish it’s always worth putting in serious time to maximise your efforts. MARK GERCOVICH reports.
THE conditions couldn’t have been better. Barely a breath of wind threatened to disturb the mirror calm water surface and air and water temperature were both warm enough to suggest we were going to get amongst the fish. We were targeting yellowtail kingfish in shallow water off the south coast of Victoria. These fish are usually quality fish over a metre long but are very unpredictable and at times just plain elusive. Signs had been promising, though, on the previous trip. Even though it was early in the season we’d encountered fish, they’d had shown interest in our offerings, but not followed through with a strike. We’d been waiting for some warmer weather to begin to turn these lookers into takers. The recent few days leading up to this evening had been just that. The previous day a mate had a more positive experience when what he described as a massive torpedo engulfed his lure boat side and proceeded to smash him up even on 40lb braid. Needless to say there were three boat loads of excited anglers who were eagerly anticipating tangling with some big kings!
As the last few rays of daylight faded on that magnificent afternoon three boats made their way despondently back to the ramp. Despite all signs pointing to a successful jaunt, the anticipated hot kingfish session never eventuated. We’d covered plenty of water, cast lures, slow trolled live baits, trolled strip baits and downrigged live baits all to no avail. We shook our heads, cursed the unpredictability of our foe and wondered whether it was worth having another crack in the morning. Despite various internet weather models showing quite disparaging results for the next morning, Nathan, Muz and myself decided to take one boat and have another try.
We arrived at the ramp the next morning to find conditions were less than ideal. The wind had turned southerly and cooled things down significantly. A strengthening breeze had chopped up the surface of the water. This usually makes it harder for the kingfish to locate the lures and baits skipping around near the surface. If last night was perfect and we still missed out we were in big trouble this morning. We were six goals down and kicking into a wind in the last quarter and it was going to take some serious luck to trouble the kingfish scorers. Fortunately this morning luck was on our side.
We’d set our spread of live baits out the back of the boat and began our trolling run, more so under wind power than electric power. None of us felt too confident.
The boat had probably only gone a hundred metres or so when the drag on the Sealine Tournament gave a slight groan. The livie had probably swum into some floating kelp or been monstered by a big squid. Next moment the reel sprung to life and gave a wail that can only mean one thing: big king! Leaving the rod in the holder, which is often a more effective way of setting the hook, I simply slid the lever to strike and we were on. Nath and Muz quickly went about clearing the other rods as I maneuvered myself to the bow and used the electric motor to get the front of the boat pointing in the direction the fish was now heading. We had managed a hook up and survived the fish’s first run, two of the times when things are most likely to go wrong. So it was a sense of shuddering disbelief when, mid fight, everything went slack. Despondently I wound in a bare hook. At no time did I feel it pull or give, hadn’t created any moments of slack line, yet some how the hook had simply dropped out, a most unusual occurrence.
Victorian kingfishing isn’t a fishery of excesses; it’s hard enough to get a good fish when conditions are good, so even though we’d just began the morning session, it felt like I might have blown our only chance. However, fortune was still with us as Muz indicated he had marked the spot where we had the strike on his hand held GPS. We headed the boat back up wind and prepared to make another drift through the area. Unlike many kingfish fisheries around the country, these fish usually aren’t holding around certain pinnacle or reef. They are usually scattered throughout a large area of shallow broken ground in 3-9m of water. Hopefully we’d be able to find them again.
Livies were re-set and now we began throwing our lures with a bit more purpose. When it’s calm we often see the fins of a school of kings, or at least some nervous water indicating the presence of fish just below. In these choppy conditions this was going to be more difficult. But just as Muz announced we were coming up to the mark on the GPS, I thought I saw something between two waves that didn’t look right. I heaved the massive 12” dual hooked Slug-go I was using well past the area and began cranking it back across the surface where I thought I’d seen something. A pack of green torpedoes came out of nowhere and charged at the lure. The width of their shoulders pushed an impressive wake as the lead fish engulfed the lure with a violent splash. Once again Muz and Nath cleared the other rods and we gave chase as 50lb braid began emptying off the Capricorn 4500 despite a seriously heavy drag. Keeping a short distance between you and the fish gives the fish less of a chance of being able to cut you off on a nearby reef. Remembering we are targeting fish in only shallow water around 3-9m deep. A big king on lighter gear can sometimes be carefully “led” away from trouble in a small manoeuvrable boat if you can keep close to him and maintain a constant pressure.
Finally after what seemed like an eternity the fish was beside the boat and Nath did the job with the net. Just under 15kg of yellowtail hit the deck of the Hornet much the delight of its occupants. Now that may not seem like a massive king to those of you who fish places like Pt. Augusta, Coffin Bay or Lord Howe Island but you’ve got to remember we’re in Victoria and fishing out of a bream boat. When compared to other states, here in Victoria we are very limited in terms of true game species. Bluefin tuna require long trips out into deep waters near the continental shelf. Pelagic sharks usually also require you to have made a significant journey out into deeper waters. Also tackling big sharks out of a small boat isn’t often a great idea. Kings out of a small boat, though, is an awesome experience and we were heading back up to the top of the run to see if we could do it again.
Sure enough as we approached the same area a school of kings appeared behind Muz’s lure and king No.2 for the morning was soon thundering across the shallow water in search of somewhere to rid itself of the annoyance it had just encountered.
Next it was Nathan’s turn. Usually we try to only have one fish hooked up at a time. Doubles and triples would easily be possible, but would more than likely result in tragedy for any number of reasons. However, as we were admiring the lovely parabolic bend in Nathan’s rod and the wailing of his drag, we were alerted to something going on behind us. One of the live baits out the back had gone off and now we had to do a bit of a dance to get both fish to the net. One was dispatched and one released. Southern kings are great on the table, but one per person is more than enough of these big fish.
By now that invention called the camera phone, which seems like a great idea until mates start sending you photos of what they’re catching while you’re unable to get there, was swinging into gear. The mates who were with us in the “perfect” conditions the night before weren’t as pleased as you’d think with our success, particularly as they were now at work. Scotty, however, was one of last night’s team who was able to come. At any other time we’ve rung anyone and said “get here quick”, the fish disappear. This morning seemed like it might be different as each time we approached the mark the fish seemed to be holding in the same gutter between two reefs. Sure enough, next run they were still there, although now they were just chasing the Slug-gos to the boat, but by then were close enough to hone in on the live baits. You could easily see metre plus kings zooming under the boat towards the waiting live baits at the rear which would disappear in with a slashing splash. The call was made… get here! We caught and released another five big kings before Scotty, held up by road works, finally arrived in his boat. Predictably, on his first run through the area, the fish had disappeared. Fortunately for his sanity he returned later that evening and managed a few. But once again, even on this awesome morning, we had been reminded that these big kings are always an unpredictable enigma. But no matter how hard it seems, it’s always days like this that keep you coming back for more.
Boat set up
We do our kingie fishing out of small boats with bow mounted electrics using a combination of lures and live baits, usually presented by at least two anglers, to attract the fish. This gives you the chance to cover plenty of ground in your search for the fish, as well as being able to present multiple techniques/offerings to work out what the fish want on that particular day. The silent approach allows you to be able to sneak up on schools of fish on the surface that are often put down by a petrol outboard. Another advantage is the ability to be able to quickly give chase upon hook up, even if this means switching on the main motor to give chase to a fish that’s really taken off. Using small craft of course has the obvious disadvantage of requiring excellent conditions to be effectively undertaken. It’s also important not being too far from a nearby ramp should the weather go bad. You do cover more ground than being at anchored but are still fairly location specific, as you can’t cover the ground a normal trolling boat under outboard power will cover.
Tackle
Quality threadline tackle is imperative when lure casting big kings. Your gear must be light enough to make the many hundreds of casts sometimes required to get the hook up, then strong enough to cope when that hook up occurs. I use a Daiwa Capricorn 4500 on a 7’Monster-mesh 702MS-sic and a 7’Coastal Tournament matched to a 4000 TD Advantage. These outfits are spooled with 50lb braid and a short leader of 60-80lb. The threadlines are also versatile in that they allow you to pitch a live bait into a school of fish that are being a little lure wary. Many top-of-the-range threadlines don’t have automatic bail trip but with the amount of casting you need to do I prefer these reels that have this feature. Live baits are best trolled on standard 15-24kg game outfits. They are essential for managing big kings in shallow water and being able to keep them out of the reef. I use a 15kg Daiwa Sealine Tournament spooled with 24kg line. In the small boat it’s a little bit more manageable than a full 24kg outfit and line capacity isn’t a problem as any king is going to reef you long before he spools you.
Rigs
Most of the kings we catch on lures are taken on Slug-go style stick baits in the 9” variety. These are rigged on a quality straight shanked hook as the worm style hooks frequently supplied with these style lures don’t provide as secure a hook up. Last season we discovered a larger pre-rigged 12” double hooked Slug-go also worked well. These lures are ripped back across the surface of the water to imitate a fleeing fish. Combine this with a live bait trolled silently out the back and it is a great way of covering the ground in search of a king. Popular livebaits can include squid, salmon, tommy ruff and trevally. These can either be towed on a flat line or spiced up with the addition of some glitter floats to help attract the fish. Alternately add a downrigger to the equation in deeper water.
