# kings



## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

What are the go to rigs for catching kings off the pier I see them land them every time I go out just. Ever see the rig I have seen and tried the live lined hard tail but to no avail any advice would be greatly appreciated


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## fairpoint (May 9, 2013)

#2 treble hook tied to 3ft 40lb sevenstrand wire, 50 or 60lb swivel.....that's all you need


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## wtjames (Sep 21, 2012)

what fairpoint said...also try a cigar minnow..or a decent sized ly


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## J0nesi (Jun 22, 2011)

+1 tie them with a figure eight knot super easy and super strong


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

why trebles and not circles???


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## eym_sirius (Oct 17, 2007)

Just so you know what bait you need to use - Here are pictures. Scroll down to Cigar Minnow and Gulf Menhaden. 

http://fishingdestinguide.com/FISHIDENTIFICATION-BYNAME.html

It struck me that everyone may not know what people are referring to when they say, "LY".
It's a corruption of a misidentification. People call them Ell-Wy (alewife), but in this age of readily available information, why not use the actual name of the fish? Gulf Menhaden. You can catch them using sabiki rigs or gold hook rigs throughout most of the summer. They're good king baits when they're lively. Fish them near the end of the pier. Same thing with cigar minnows, except that kings will readily take a cigar minnnow that has been frozen or is freshly dead. Cast the cig out and then slow-turn your reel handle to bring it back. It looks to the king like an injured fish, an easy meal. The bonus is that you can often see the strike. It's one of my favorite things about fishing this way. If the wind is a problem and you're having trouble keeping your cigar minnow in the water, put a 1/4 oz. barrell weight above the swivel tied to your main line and it will put your bait where the kings are!

To give yourself confidence, have a rig ready to go and bait up once someone brings a king on deck. Always cast straight-away, at a 90 degree angle from where you're standing on the rail, so you don't cross others. Many times, there will be a king run at first light, so have a bait ready to go, so that you're not trying to tie your knots and catch bait while others are bringing fish over the rail. 

I use 27 lb coffee (brown) colored wire, about 18 - 20 inches with a black swivel. It's what works for me. I often utilize a stinger hook, which seems to minimize both misses and hook-pulls. 

Set your drag to where you can pull out line with only a degree of difficulty. A good fish needs resistance to wear it down. Let it take that first long run, hopefully straight away from you. That will take the fish past all of the competing lines and it will typically wear him down so that he doesn't have the strength to make the dreaded run under the pier pilings. Only start gaining line on him after he has taken that first big run and then allow him to make a lesser run on the way back if he is so inclined. Usually someone will be around to help gaff him for you. Thank the person for taking time away from his fishing to assist you. When your fish is gaffed, you want to free-spool your line. If you were to gather your line in while the fish was coming up, if it fell off the gaff, the force would likely break your rod. If the fish runs around the pilings, instead of sawing the line on the barnacles, try free-spooling, since many times the king will try to go back where he came from and free himself. Most of the time, if he's taken a nice long run against a well-set drag, he's too pooped to make the effort. 
Fish with confidence and commit to making your cigar minnow look like an injured baitfish and the kings will take care of the rest. They don't know who's holding the pole!


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

eym- dude thank you for that write up i can clearly tell you are a damn good fisherman . i will try this out what about the treble hooks? is there a specific reason why you use them???


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## Wharf Rat (Sep 27, 2007)

How do you all keep your seven strand from curling up behind the knot after you tie the figure eight knot?


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

eym_sirius said:


> Just so you know what bait you need to use - Here are pictures. Scroll down to Cigar Minnow and Gulf Menhaden.
> 
> http://fishingdestinguide.com/FISHIDENTIFICATION-BYNAME.html
> 
> ...


hate to break it to u but what we call an ly is a scaled sardine a gulf menhaden is a completly different fish


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## Lingfisher613 (Nov 12, 2013)

*treble hook better*

with the circle hook u only have 1 chance to hook a king, and with the treble hook you can hook the king 3 times with all hooks and its guranteed to not come out. circle hooks arent recommended for kings either since you have to freespool once they eat. circle hooks are more meant for redfish and tarpon


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## Lingfisher613 (Nov 12, 2013)

*also*



eym_sirius said:


> Just so you know what bait you need to use - Here are pictures. Scroll down to Cigar Minnow and Gulf Menhaden.
> 
> http://fishingdestinguide.com/FISHIDENTIFICATION-BYNAME.html
> 
> ...


also most the time when people king fish with weights it doesnt work out that much. If there is a wind just let some more line out than usual and itll sink the bait and itll stay put longer than on top water. Lys are also an amazing bait dead as well i went 4-4 on kings with lys the other day all on dead ones. live is better but dead works just as well sometimes. also you dont want to cast directly 90% either depending on the current you wanna cast alittle to the left or to the right as people will be drifting baits and you will most likely cross them throwing straight out. Also i rarely slowing reel in my bait 24/7 due to less time in the water. I usually keep my bait in the water till it sinks alittle and then once it sinks more than i like i usually twitch it up and then let more line out for it to sink again. I get more strikes twitching my baits up then just reeling it in.


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## eym_sirius (Oct 17, 2007)

weedline said:


> hate to break it to u but what we call an ly is a scaled sardine a gulf menhaden is a completly different fish


I deferred to the FishIDByName site, which listed "gulf menhaden" as the same as an "LY" and showed "LY" as a suitable nom de fishie.

Yeah, I know about scaled sardines - I'm fine with using that reference.

In ANY event, they're not "Alewifes" (alewives?), you'll agree? So why call 'em "LY"?


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## eym_sirius (Oct 17, 2007)

Lingfisher613 said:


> also most the time when people king fish with weights it doesnt work out that much. If there is a wind just let some more line out than usual and itll sink the bait and itll stay put longer than on top water. Lys are also an amazing bait dead as well i went 4-4 on kings with lys the other day all on dead ones. live is better but dead works just as well sometimes. also you dont want to cast directly 90% either depending on the current you wanna cast alittle to the left or to the right as people will be drifting baits and you will most likely cross them throwing straight out. Also i rarely slowing reel in my bait 24/7 due to less time in the water. I usually keep my bait in the water till it sinks alittle and then once it sinks more than i like i usually twitch it up and then let more line out for it to sink again. I get more strikes twitching my baits up then just reeling it in.


I think that the people who use weights use the ones that are too big for the conditions. Letting out line works for a minute, until the wind catches the line again and brings the bait back up to the top. I find that putting the bait where the fish are works better and that the kings pay absolutely no attention to the small 1/4 oz weight. Evidently, they don't, because I've had more luck that way than letting line out to allow the bait to go down. 

Kings like an easy meal, so they'll take baitfish dead/dying, but sometimes they want them lively. I've seen times when they wanted live cigs and devoured a live bait the minute it started to swim. I'd opt for live, given the choice. 

As far as your letting the bait sink and twitching it up, I think that every fisherman has his own techniques that he has had success with. I don't just reel it in - it's little more than reeling the slack, a couple of feet at a time. With a little breeze, the cig may drift just out of sight and I turn the handle a few times to make it look like it's struggling. It works for me!


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## weedline (Aug 20, 2011)

eym_sirius said:


> I deferred to the FishIDByName site, which listed "gulf menhaden" as the same as an "LY" and showed "LY" as a suitable nom de fishie.
> 
> Yeah, I know about scaled sardines - I'm fine with using that reference.
> 
> In ANY event, they're not "Alewifes" (alewives?), you'll agree? So why call 'em "LY"?


i agree in the big bend they sell menhaden as lys and i know a alewife doesnt live in the gulf dont know where we got ly from but what we catch off the piers is the scaled sardine and what we call hearing is a spanish sardine then we call little tunny bonito and call a true bonito a northern mackerel


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

why would i free spool??? not to sure on that one


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

and would i be able to use 2 circles one as a stinger and one as the main one... i have seen rigs like that just curious if it would work in this situation...


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## Jackin' 'Em Up (Dec 31, 2013)

woodinfliezz said:


> why would i free spool??? not to sure on that one


You freespool when you see a king come to strike your bait so they can fully eat the bait be for you start setting the hook. As stated above, I would shy away from circle hooks unless fishing for reds and tarpon. If you wanted to do a stinger rig, use a short shank j-hook in the front and a treble hook in the back. Go to the pier shack/bait shack and see if they have any king leaders. They are good to start with until you can make your own.


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## BEACH-N-REDS (Jun 11, 2014)

I watched a guy on P'cola pier throw out a live Bluegill once and slammed a 45 lb King within 10 minutes and then walked off. He said he was on the river earlier that day and forgot his King bait. I couldn't believe it.


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

will single strand wire work for kings???


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## Hopin4aboat (Jul 5, 2009)

Yeah it will by I get the best results with 27lb sevenstrand


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

I second the stinger hook plan. About 90% of all kings that I catch are only hooked by the stinger. Kings will swim at a bait at super high speed with their moth open. The often dont try to eat the bait whole, but cut it in half and come back for the second piece. Witht he stinger, no matter which end that hit first, it has a hook.

I tie my rigs from 27 or 40lb coffee single strand with a #2 or #4 treble on the front and a # 4 on the rear. I use a haywire twist to make the hook and swivel connections.

Another secret is that I pre-tie my rigs and leave the stinger line and hook off but packaged with the leader. Then, when I know the size of my bait, then I can attach my stinger section of the appropriate length with a simple haywire twist. The reason I do this is because sometimes I am using Ly's, but more often, I am using something larger like a Pin, Grunt, or a little Croaker. I've never caught one on a Ciger Minnow. Dead or alive, off a pier or while trolling. Most people use them, but they have never worked for me.


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

figured i would post a thank you to all you guys who gave me advice  went out yesterday with my new found knowledge and hooked up with this bad boy... by the way it was on a circle hook


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Nice!

Man that is a long pier. Where is that. Much longer than the pier that I occasionally fish.


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## woodinfliezz (Jan 27, 2014)

Navarre Pier


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## Photoguy504 (Feb 6, 2014)

*Kayak King Tom*

Just a lil king caught from my buddies yak on May 25th sorry for the late post. This was caught off the coast about a mile out from Ft Pickens campground It was a slow fishing weekend with not much action but my buddy Tom landed this beast.


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