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High hopes for kingies
  |  First Published: November 2008



Kingies are one species that everyone is thinking of as Summer rolls in.

While the offshore reefs can provide action through the cooler months, our estuaries and bays hold good numbers of kingies only in Summer. The odd fish is caught in Winter but the big schools move in when the warmer water arrives.

Kingies are not that hard to catch, it’s all about the bait and the location and there are lots of great spots to target Kingies around Botany Bay.

Two baits that work for most anglers are squid and yellowtail. Last season I caught all my kingies on yellowtail because squid at times can be a little tough to find and you can spend hours looking for them.

I find that I can shoot straight to the bait ground, load up on live bait and be on our way quickly. We can also catch a few squid around the bait grounds as they love feeding on the small fish that hang over these spots.

Here are some spots to fish over Summer to bring good results for kings.

A favourite spot of mine would have to be the Container Wall. This is the first real structure that you encounter as you come into the Bay and kingies will hold here at times in good numbers.

You should also try around all the channel markers. These can be tricky to fish at times but can produce the goods.

Third spot is just wide of Bare Island Bommie. I normally anchor on this spot in 15m of water for best results. Watch out for the bommie because it will break in big seas.

The Oil Wharf is a top run-out tide spot. The law stipulates you cannot anchor closer than 100m and the police will fine you if you are caught too close.

So, you have bait on board and you are anchored at one of these spots. You have a trace of about 1.5m tied to a large swivel with quite a large lead above it to keep your bait under the boat.

Place a hook of around 6/0 just behind the bait’s head and above the spine so it will stay alive for as long as possible.

With the live bait anchored on the bottom below, you can also fish small floating baits out the back of the boat in a berley trail.

Now be prepared to sit and wait attentively. Kingies can hit straight away or over the next hour or more so be patient.

A medium overhead combo with 35lb mono works for me all year long, whether fishing offshore or around Botany Bay, and most kingies will hook themselves when fishing with bait.

If you are jigging for kingies offshore, you will need gear for a little more speed, with higher geared overheads or a large, strong threadline which can also be used for live-baiting, jigging and even fishing the bottom for snapper and flathead.

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