By Mark Gercovich
I remember around 15 years ago when one of the children in my class showed me a photo of two kingfish his dad had caught. Now his dad just happened to work on a pro-boat, but still the kings in the picture were two corkers probably somewhere between 12-15kg. What made it even more impressive to me at the time was that the fish had been caught locally, here in cold, old Victoria. I’d always thought that one had to travel interstate to catch such impressive and exciting fish! At the time I would have found it hard to believe that I would end up spending a good majority of my summers chasing fish just like that right here in good old Victoria. Many anglers also have this view, but in reality Victorian Kingfish are not some mythical holy grail but a fish that, with persistence and dedication, can be targeted at many spots along the coast. Let’s look at some of the common perceptions about kingfish and how they stack up in reality for the Victorian angler.
You only catch kings in one or two areas of the state
Many anglers make the long pilgrimage to Portland each summer in pursuit of kingfish. Certainly some are successful, but many return unfulfilled. As anglers explore far and wide, with improved technology and quality tackle, more and more destinations seem to be turning up kingfish around the state. Mallacoota, Waratah Bay, Wilsons prom, Black Rock and Pt Fairy have all turned on good kingfish recently. Even anglers fishing around Metung in the Gippsland lakes of all places, have come across big kings over the past two summers. Don’t be blinkered into feeling you have to follow the crowd, time spent on the water is often better than time spent on the road. Following angling media can help, but this usually results in you arriving after the bite has been shut down. Be proactive and try to find fish before the masses descend. Once you are at your chosen location, again don’t be a sheep and hang ‘round the flock. Try to avoid crowds and move away from other boats and you are more likely to find fish conducive to capture, rather than those that have been spooked by constant boat traffic. Of course if you see boats hooked up be respectful and give them plenty of distance, circling them like the Indians around a wagon train, will only see everyone miss out.
A GPS/sounder combo is handy in returning to the school after being dragged away from the spot by a rampaging king.
You only catch kings on fine, calm hot days.
Yes, fine calm, hot, summer days are great for kings. The warm water temperature makes them active and more likely to feed. Calm water helps them hone in on surface lures or panicky live baits. However these days not only suit the kings but also those anglers chasing them. Sometimes these fine calm days result in the kingfish being elusive due to heavy boat traffic. It’s a bit of a catch 22 situation but some days when the above water conditions don’t seem perfect, yet the water temperature remains high, can produce well. Remember though, if it’s looking like it’s too rough to contemplate tackling the ocean conditions present at that particular time, then you’re probably wasting your time anyway if kings are your intended quarry.
Kingfish respond best to live baits
Kingies do love live bait. A live squid or wriggling fish is usually irresistible if you manage to put it in front of a king…usually! There are times when the fish will not touch a livey, but will eat a lure. Other times the fish might swim past a live bait and eat a fresh squid strip or even worse, swim past all of the above on the heavy gear and eat a fresh piece of squid on a whiting rod. It is this unpredictability which, while at times drive you mad, only adds to the mystique of pursuing kingfish. Like many lure caught species, kingfish often succumb to a reaction bite. Whilst they might not be in a feeding mood, the commotion made by a surface lure seemingly can goad them into action, even if they have refused a juicy live offering. At other times they will follow a lure but not take it. The quick thinking or prepared angler who can quickly present a live bait into the mix before the fish departs the scene, can often be rewarded. I suppose the main point here is to be open to options rather than blinkered into one technique in case the fish are being fussy on that particular day.
Kingfish are aggressive inquisitive predators that follow their hooked mates, often hanging around if one fish remains in the water
Rats maybe, but kings don’t become big kings by being stupid. When hooked up to a king of over 10kg his similar sized mates tend to disappear from view, even if there were many fish initially. Although you may not see them cruising along with the hooked fish, they may not be too far away, getting a bait/lure back in quickly after one king has been landed may see an unseen king reveal himself. If you have been on the ball enough to mark the spot where you hooked up you can use your GPS/sounder combination, or spot lock recall if you have an I-pilot electric motor , to return to the location once the fish has been landed. You often find you have travelled a considerable distance during the battle from the initial hook up position and returning to it can be difficult without electronic assistance, particularly in fairly featureless areas.
You need heavy game fishing equipment to subdue a big kingfish
Yes, if you are stuck at anchor you will need the come hither approach of heavy game gear in the 24-37kg range to stop a big king rubbing you off on the bottom. Even then the odds are not in your favor as there is every chance a good king will find the safety of a nearby reef, obstacle or your anchor chain. However if you are targeting them from a moving vessel the odds begin to turn back in your favour. We target the kings from a moving vessel often under electric power. The quietness of the Minn Kota is an obvious benefit stealth wise as it doesn’t put the fish down like a big horsepower driven game boat and also allows for the instant ability to give chase. Use the electric to point the nose of the boat at the disappearing kingfish and power up to get as close as possible to the fish. At times the outboard may need to be switched on to catch up if a really big fish, in shallow water, has hit the turbo chargers. The ability to chase and keep close to a king using a more gentle approach than trying to drag them in on heavy game gear sees us lose very few kings.
Small boats work fine for kings in calm weather.
As we are often casting at fish, or where we hope fish are, our weapons of choice are heavy to medium casting rods such the Demon blood 72MH or a TD SOL 2 IN 701 HFS matched to 4500-3500 size reels with big drag capacities. Spin gear also gives versatility even if you are bait fishing. It’s a bit hard to pitch a live bait at a school of kings that has just popped up slightly to the left of the boat on a 24kg game outfit. Being able to pitch a bait in the direction of kings that have followed, but not taken a lure is also an effective technique in getting a hook up. Double hookups are usually the main issue we try to avoid as the fish can head off in two different directions, then you might be in trouble no matter what you do.
The average size king in Victoria is around 5 – 6 kilos.
Kings hang around deep water pinnacles and reefs
Many well known kingfish locations involve targeting fish in some seemingly ridiculous shallow water. In these situations kings can be found wandering around in shallow reef areas rather than holding on a significant piece of structure. By building up a bank of hook up and sighting locations on your GPS one can get a pattern of likely locations. Once again your GPS is handy for returning to the school after being dragged away from the spot by a fish as there may be little obvious structure or fish arches on the sounder to give away the presence of the rest of the school.
So this summer why not dedicate some time to pursuing your local kingfish population, you might be surprised by what you discover.
