# Kings...



## froglegs

Hey folks - when do the kings show up again? 

I caught my first one out of a yak last year and need he feeling again.


----------



## JD7.62

Mid to late April is when they start showing up in decent numbers.


----------



## Chris V

Ditto above. You may catch some this month but they rarely get going good until water temps are 70 and above


----------



## Ginzu

Get out the wire and treble hooks!


----------



## rufus1138

what mainline size do most of you yak guys catch your kings on, i havent been able to fish king season in the yaks yet and im itching to try out my 10lb pp rigs on them


----------



## amarcafina

30 # main line


----------



## rufus1138

amarcafina said:


> 30 # main line


in a yak? may i ask why.


----------



## marmidor

I fish 30# on everything.


----------



## hsiF deR

rufus1138 said:


> what mainline size do most of you yak guys catch your kings on, i havent been able to fish king season in the yaks yet and im itching to try out my 10lb pp rigs on them


15-20# mono for all things king

Braid for kings in a yak is a disaster especially if your fishing out of a Hobie. That stuff gets in your Mirage drive and it is such a pain to get out.


----------



## rufus1138

no hobie problems for me, i plan on anchoring up and flatlining pinfish or using jigs, just wondered if there was a reason for 30 mono, when i fish with my uncle he uses 20 mono but i manage just fine with my 10pp against 40+ inch bull reds so i figured the average king will be manageable on the same rig from a yak.


----------



## JD7.62

30lb mono is WAY overkill for kings.

I HATE braid for any fast moving fish like kings or dolphin. 

17lb mono for me. Hell, you can land a king on 2lb test as long as you have enough line. Kings pretty much make a few runs then literally die. 

Of course I cant stand king fishing and it looks like I will be doing plenty of it this year for kayak wars unfortunately.


----------



## rufus1138

what does the braid do thats bad for fast moving fish?


----------



## JD7.62

No stretch. There is a reason you dont see people trolling for big game with braid.

When that king slams bait at nearly 30mph you want that stretch of mono to keep the hooks from ripping out until the drag can start doing its thing. Not to mention when you are fighting a fish, the stretch of mono again comes in handy when suddenly the fish goes from 0-balls out at the drop of a dime. 

Braid IMO is good for only two things offshore in a kayak, jigging and bottom fishing.


----------



## rufus1138

k, i might have to get good at tying topshots lol. and who knows, i always play with a pretty soft drag setting so i might have a chance. oh i got your guides btw, might be wrapping this weekend.


----------



## JD7.62

Really 10lb braid will be fine for kings, especially with a soft drag. Its when youre running 50lb braid and a tight drag when the stretch issue comes into play. 

I would still tie at least a wind on leader. You dont want to leader 10lb braid if you want to keep all of your fingers! lol


----------



## rufus1138

lol k, i figured the braid issue was usually referencing the bigger stuff since i havent had any of the problems people talk about with braid even with my "big" 20lb rig, i havent even managed to straighten a hook yet, i either wear the fish out or i get broke off on structure early in the fight, rarely broke off tho.


----------



## JD7.62

Well you dont have to worry about kings taking you into structure. 

The usual lines I run:

17-20lb mono for trolling or pitching baits/jigs.

60lb braid on one bottom rod.

50lb mono on all of my other bottom rods.

40lb Suffix 832 (I REALLY like this line so far) on my Penn SSV 5500 for jigging.

Of course I get broken off on my 50 and 60lb outfits more in one month then I do on all of my lighter stuff in one year. Nature of bottom fishing, some fish you just cant always stop!


----------



## rufus1138

i hear ya, im looking forward to working my light tackle without worrying about structure, flats and open water are on the list this year for sure, im tired of bridges and such. im hoping to get some good lure fishing done around the mass this year, i got to test my new 10lb rig from outcast this saturday with my waxwing plug on it and that thing will freakin sail.


----------



## ragsfisher

i catch them on 20lp all the time but remember theres a reason they call'em smokers


----------



## froglegs

Good info. Thanks for the responses. Do the BFT show up around the same time of year? That is my bucket list fish this year along with the mahi.


----------



## JD7.62

Bft are generally an early spring and late fall fish. They dont like it too hot nor too cold. Problem is, so far this year with all of the rain in the area and all of the snow fall in the midwest Im not holding my breath for a good spring run of BFT this year. Same with mahi and sails. 

They need clean water and last week nearly 40 miles out the water was bay water green/brown. Last year we had a phenomenal push of blue water right on the beaches that brought in the sails, mahi and tuna in record numbers. I am hopeful but doubtful we will see that this spring. 

If things stay dry in the midwest over the summer we may get another good fall run though.


----------



## jasonh1903

All great advice for kings. Also, drag settings and rod stiffness make a HUGE difference in how many fish you will land while trolling. If your rod is too stiff any stretch you get from mono won't be enough. Basically, a stout stand up rod would be a poor choice for trolling but you don't want something that immediately doubles over when hit. Drag is very critical. As a rule of thumb I always leave my reel engaged and set my drag at exactly 3 pounds when trolling for anything offshore using rigs with treble hooks. When a fish is on NEVER, NEVER change your drag setting unless you're about to get spooled. Before I figured this out I lost a lot of fish... these days I land the majority of those I hook. BTW, learn how to tie a proper king rig. If the stinger is too short you'll miss on half your strikes.


----------



## Ginzu

Iluvkingfishing!


----------



## sniperpeeps

All good advice.....or you can just use circle hooks with a small wire trace and not worry about pulling hooks and put the heat on those kings. 20-30lb braid with a 40 lb flouro leader and a small single strand trace and you can man handle just about any king out there.


----------



## The_Rookie

Frogleggs, Whenever they show up, I am certain to out fish you again.


----------



## hsiF deR

Ginzu said:


> Iluvkingfishing!


:thumbup:

http://youtu.be/_TJntzEPAn4


----------



## MrPhoShiz

I've always used braid. Just my personal preference. I recently spooled 80# Daiwa on both my battle 7000s so I can't wait to get Jiggy/troll/bottom bump. Every king I've caught we're on 50# braid with 65# wire. I've learned to be cautious when going fishing. With the increase in catching everything including the kitchen sink I don't wanna hook into a fatty and lose it cause I was I'll prepared.


----------



## Caddy Yakker

Yeah I'm with you guys I never troll with braid if I can help it. I use 20 lb mono for kings and lite drag. I caught 6 kings last fall right at 30 lbs and up no problem. The only times I target kings now is when tournament fishing.


----------



## catdad100

lost several nice kings boatside due to no-give in braid and hooks ripping.Consulted several ska friends and both said they used mono to avoid treble ripping out as many times the kings slash at the bait and get hooked in the side of the head,etc.so no chance on these unless you've got plenty of give and light drag and also I 2nd the advice on not messing with the drag unless your about to get spooled,my wife got a little too excited last year and we lost a really big one fishing a tournment like that.


----------



## JD7.62

sniperpeeps said:


> All good advice.....or you can just use circle hooks with a small wire trace and not worry about pulling hooks and put the heat on those kings. 20-30lb braid with a 40 lb flouro leader and a small single strand trace and you can man handle just about any king out there.


True but with a hook up ratio about a third as a standard king rig with trebles. Of course if youre going for sails and big mahi like you do, missing a few kings but getting the mahi and sails from the yak on the rig you are describing is 100% worth it! :thumbsup:

Of course every time I use the circle hooks I go through my live bait like its going out of style and only bring in cig heads and no mahi or sail.


----------



## Chris V

I use circle hooks for kings pretty often but you have to fish them from some sort of release so that line feeds after the strike. Without it, you end up with bait heads


----------



## FenderBender

I kingfish with cigsicles and circle hooks and have a 90% hookup rate with the circle hook. I hate trebles. The key is hook the cigar minnow right through the thin tough part of the tail and let it lay streamlined and hidden. 6 inches of wire. Let the bait runner feed about 5 seconds and it's gets them almost every time.


----------



## baldona523

Chris V said:


> I use circle hooks for kings pretty often but you have to fish them from some sort of release so that line feeds after the strike. Without it, you end up with bait heads


Like a rubber band? Trying to think of how to do it on a kayak with the rods so low to the water? What size circle?


----------



## JD7.62

When I use circles I hood the rod in my hand with the bail open and let them eat. Easier in a hobie then a paddle kayak I suppose.


----------



## baldona523

Well I may try using my Avet or another level drag set real light? I'd love to not have to worry about trebles on my yak.


----------



## JD7.62

As long as you are not wanting to harvest the kings, just carry one of those long floating de-hookers. Once i started carrying one I rarely had a king in my kayak with me, just got them along side the boat and the de-hooker made quick work of the trebles. Plus by leaving the king in the water you give it MAYBE a 50% chance of survival. lol If you take it out its an almost sure death for them.


----------



## sniperpeeps

baldona523 said:


> Like a rubber band? Trying to think of how to do it on a kayak with the rods so low to the water? What size circle?



When I'm fishing them from a boat I use a rubber band to set a delay plus I have the drag pretty much as loose as I dare let it run. Let them eat.....even if they short strike it if you drop it back to them they often come back and finish the job. Seems to be most of the short strikes are little snakes anyways, caught plenty of smokers on circles and they just inhale cigs and small threadfins.


----------



## HOKIES2012

What size circles are you guys using? I debur my treble hooks for release but I don't like the damage it does to the fish on occasion.


----------



## FenderBender

HOKIES2012 said:


> What size circles are you guys using? I debur my treble hooks for release but I don't like the damage it does to the fish on occasion.


4/0 or 5/0


----------



## HOKIES2012

FenderBender said:


> 4/0 or 5/0


Thanks


----------



## panhandleslim

*King Medicine*

Seventeen to 20 lb. mono, trebles and a medium drag setting. When drifting, this never misses. When trolling dusters/cigs, it's J hook. J hook with off-set stinger works great on drifting also. Don't know why the free spool works better from the pier but 'free-spooling' from a boat doesn't seem to work as well unless you see the bite. When I used to work on a boat, back before the civil war, :whistling:we always ran a medium drag on duster / cig combos and it always seemed to work fine. We even ran planers with drone spoons on almost full drag and they never seemed to miss. I love the feel of 'free-spoolin' em but the percentage say use drag for success. No time for them to feel something they don't really like.


----------



## Stressless

40# Suffix 832 with 40# top shot floro. When drifting or trolling live drag is set to 3-4# never had any issues... do not ever touch the drag - with a Hobie I've run them down to get more line. Use the pole to add drag as you can but for smokers easy, easy does it. You never know where your hook connected. Maybe the corner of the jaw, maybe 1/4" of skin.

Stressless


----------



## JD7.62

Stressless said:


> 40# Suffix 832 with 40# top shot floro. When drifting or trolling live drag is set to 3-4# never had any issues... do not ever touch the drag - with a Hobie I've run them down to get more line. Use the pole to add drag as you can but for smokers easy, easy does it. You never know where your hook connected. Maybe the corner of the jaw, maybe 1/4" of skin.
> 
> Stressless


I think that is the problem with braid. Ive seen too many guys think that becaue they have 50lb braid they should crank their drag down. NOT the case with kings or even dolphin. I still prefer mono for trolling/pitching duties but braid with a super light drag is probably just fine for just about everyone. However if the SKA guys are running mono, there is a reason for it.


----------



## need2fish

I'm just glad we're talking Kings ....spring is near


----------



## MVann126

Every King, Mahi, & BFT I landed this past year was on 40lb Power Pro & wire with j hook/treble stinger rig or a diving Yo Zuri w wire. The Sailfish my son landed was on 65lb Power Pro & same j hook/treble stinger rig. My Sailfish was on 65lb Power Pro & 60lb fluoro leader w 7/0 circle hook. IMHO knowing your drag & gear, having confidence in both, time spent on the water, & a whole lot of luck are the most important things.


----------



## Ginzu

MVann126 said:


> Every King, Mahi, & BFT I landed this past year was on 40lb Power Pro & wire with j hook/treble stinger rig or a diving Yo Zuri w wire. The Sailfish my son landed was on 65lb Power Pro & same j hook/treble stinger rig. My Sailfish was on 65lb Power Pro & 60lb fluoro leader w 7/0 circle hook. IMHO knowing your drag & gear, having confidence in both, time spent on the water, & a whole lot of luck are the most important things.


What he said. :thumbsup:


----------



## Fishin Ski

MVann126 said:


> Every King, Mahi, & BFT I landed this past year was on 40lb Power Pro & wire with j hook/treble stinger rig or a diving Yo Zuri w wire. The Sailfish my son landed was on 65lb Power Pro & same j hook/treble stinger rig. My Sailfish was on 65lb Power Pro & 60lb fluoro leader w 7/0 circle hook. IMHO knowing your drag & gear, having confidence in both, time spent on the water, & a whole lot of luck are the most important things.


 
I agree with Matthew. All my kings were on 30 lb powerpro to wire with two treble hooks. Kept the drag light and only lost one stud when I got frisky and tried to horse him in quickly..... it didnt work..... but I learned my leason, the screaming drag is the fun part anyway.

Let the drag work, and when he's boatside, be smart with your rod. Ever watch the Bassmaster tournament guys? they can almost make a fish do what they want at the boat :thumbsup:


----------



## Caddy Yakker

Fishin Ski said:


> I agree with Matthew. All my kings were on 30 lb powerpro to wire with two treble hooks. Kept the drag light and only lost one stud when I got frisky and tried to horse him in quickly..... it didnt work..... but I learned my leason, the screaming drag is the fun part anyway.
> 
> Let the drag work, and when he's boatside, be smart with your rod. Ever watch the Bassmaster tournament guys? they can almost make a fish do what they want at the boat :thumbsup:


Like JD said the SKA guys use mono, so does almost everyone that trolls for pelagics and any experienced king fisherman. They use mono for a reason = they know what they are doing. 

Bass fishing and king fishing are apples and oranges. 

But really on April 13th I hope everyone uses heavy braid and a tight drag offshore for those bass I mean kings! Good luck!


----------

