As soon as I think of a Kingfish session I think of a sore back and a bruised groin region. They really are a very tough fish with many fisho’s getting totally dusted up before they even know what hit them. Because Kingfish don’t suffer from Barometric trauma it basically means they can fight all the way to the boat and when your jigging in 100 metres of water for instance and your body will really feel it by the time you see colour.

There are many ways to target big Kingfish like Live Baiting, Jigging, Popping and Trolling but for me nothing beats a jigging session and that feeling when you get smashed and the rod loads up. There are some days though when the last thing I want to do is jig for hours especially as I get older but when the Kings are on its a load of fun. 

If you have not done any jigging before it really is very easy but again, very physically taxing. I think its always a good idea to have a jig rod ready to go in the boat as if you do cruise over some reef with the sounder fully loaded up it pays to be ready to go. The size of your jig will depend greatly on the fish you are targeting, the depth and current. In deeper water say from 50 - 100m a heavier jig around the 300 gram mark will often be a good place to start.

You then have to pick a jig from the hundreds of shapes, sizes and colours available on the market today and that can be pretty daunting. I have selected a few below that have worked really well for me over the years on Kingfish. In terms of colour sometimes it really doesn’t matter as they will eat anything but other times when they are a bit fussy I find anything that resembles a yellow tail or a slimy mackerel will get the job done. In saying that though I have a mate that only uses black jigs and does really well. Different colours will work in different areas so you will need to try a few before you get it worked out for you.

The technique is to simply drop your jig straight to the bottom but make sure you take careful notice of how fast your jig is dropping as if it suddenly speeds up a fish may already have it in its mouth. Once you hit the bottom its all about making your jig look like a fleeting or injured bait fish. A very aggressive lift and wind technique repeated rapidly is the key.

This is when a good sounder comes in handy too as if you can see the fish holding on the bottom you really only need to jig the first 30 metres for example rather than kill your self jigging all the way up. Once you have covered the ground you think the fish are at simply open the bail arm, drop to the bottom and start over.

It’s important though that if your line is on a very sharp angle from the boat rather than straight up and down your probably not hitting the bottom or its time to wind to the surface and start again. You may also need to adjust your jig weight to ensure your hitting the bottom. 

Jig rods and reels vary greatly too but if your serious about targeting Kingfish my suggestion is to go big. Low speed spinning or overhead reels up to 8000 size with a pretty heavy jig rod will work well. Braid up to 100LB and multi coloured to help you work out your depth when dropping is handy too. I hope the products I have selected below help you in your monster Kingfish endeavours.

Cheers,