Finding yellowtail kingfish Pt2 by Jarrod Day

In part one we talked about different baits, tackle and techniques, now it is time to go and find some fish.

FINDING FISH

With a tank of live baits now's the time to go in search of kings. Kingfish habitat generally revolves around current, bait and reef. Deep water bommies and reef are prime habitat as the structure tends to hold baitfish, providing the bait is there and the current to funnel them to the location, the kings will be somewhere in the vicinity.

In this situation, your sounder is your best friend and it is vital you know how to read it correctly in order to find fish. More often than not, the fish will be schooled up tight so finding them shouldn't be that hard. When they are tight to the edge of an exposed bommie, dragging live baits past the wash works a treat, as sounding can be difficult.

In Victoria these types of locations are spread right along the coast with Black Head to Punch Bowl being very productive. Along this section of the coast, trolling both live baits and hardbodied diving lures is effective. This area is more of a highway rather than a location where you'll find them schooled, so working the edge of the coast in around 15-20m is a good start. If trolling live baits, your speed will have to be quite slow, say 1-2 knots. For hardbodied lures you can increase the speed, but I suggest sticking around 5 knots at the most.

As you're working this area, it pays to constantly keep an eye on the sounder for bait balls and schools of fish. If these are found, then work the schools. Once fish are located, add a waypoint into the GPS. This will give you a reference point to work over otherwise you may lose sight of where you've been working and have to try and find the fish again. When you get a strike, take note of the direction that you were travelling. Pelagic fish will often take a lure or live bait in a certain direction. This can be because of the current and or trolling speed. Kingfish are sods for following trolled baits and without you knowing if they are following your bait, so speed up for a few metres every so often. This will have the live bait moving a little quicker as if it is escaping, which can initiate a strike.

Pyramid Rock to Seal Rock is another popular location to find kings. The fish often school up close to the rocks so you will need some good calm weather to access these areas. Trolling livies is very effective as is trolling strips of squid. These should be placed around 30m behind the boat as the area is only around 5-8m deep. Closer into the rock it drops away to 12m plus depending on what side of the rock you're on. Work the edge of the reef line as the fish often move between these two areas. This area is quite treacherous at times but does hold good schools of fish. Occasionally, schools of kings can be found swimming into the bay around Point Grant. This is relatively a calm area where the fish will work the edge of the basalt rocks. Trolling this area is also quite productive when the fish are about.

Further to the West, from West Head through to Picnic Point the kings can also be found. There are a few exposed bommies in this area where they will school up but do move around quite a bit so you will have to do some ground work to find them. Slow trolling live baits will get their attention but don't underestimate trolling small 3" skirted lures. I have caught and seen quite a number of fish fall to these highly effective lures. If the fish are found holding up, tossing soft plastics to their domain works well.

Lastly, Port Phillip Heads also known as the Rip is a well known location where they school up. Fishing here can be treacherous unless you know exactly what you're doing. The force of the current is hard enough to deal with let alone a bad weather forecast. Fishing here should be only for the experienced or with a fishing guide.

Live baiting is the most effective technique as the fish will be found holding deep on the bottom, usually in 20-30m. The bottom edge of the Nepean Bank and Corsair Rock are two well known locations to find kings but the nearby reef makes fishing difficult at the best of times. The tides will play a major role, dictating when the fish bite and you will have to find this out by being on the water.

Anglers fishing for the kings in these parts will have to hold the boat into the current to be able to drop the live bait. The current is extremely strong and there is no other way to get the live to the bottom other then using this technique. Once it hits the bottom, wind it up a few turns of the reel and hold on, the bite will be fast and furious and you'll have to go hard on the fish early if you want any chance at getting away from the rocky terrain below. This angling technique requires two anglers and is vital the driver is aware of the surroundings, as it is some of the most dangerous terrain to be fished in this area.

LURE POSSIBILITIES

Through the heads, schools of kings can be seen swirling on the surface at certain times throughout summer. Just as if you were in search of salmon, locating schools of birds dive-bombing the surface is a clear indication that some type of fish species is rounding bait towards the surface. Offshore, large schools of salmon still do this but often, kingfish lurk below. As they say, "eyes on the sky" and anglers venturing offshore for a shot at a king should looks for any birds working the water. While this is a sight in itself, casting large plastics and stick baits into the schools can be very entertaining.

One hot location this occurs is off Charlemont Reef which is located in thae 20m depth range. In season, huge schools of kingfish are often found here but you need the weather on your side as it is a fair run from the heads to Charlemont. The stretch of coast from Portsea to Cape Shank is also prime territory where kings can be found busting the surface. A light tackle approach is highly effective when working with plastics, with 7' rods rated to 10kg with enough back bone strength allowing you to get the jump on fish early. Reels should be spooled with 30lb braid with 60lb leader mandatory.

If you're wanting to attempt stick baiting you have to be right on the money when searching for fish. Constantly watching the water for any surface activity is paramount. Though the birds will give you a good indication fish are about, look well into the water for fish swirling on the surface then make the cast. Stick baits in the 120-160mm length are recommended with Yo-Zuri 125 sliders, Strategic Angler stick baits, AWSB stick baits and Duel Adagio 125's the most popular. For casting such a lure, rods need to be able to handle such a weight. Recommended is an 8' stick bait rod such as the Wilson Venom PE 5 with Stella 10,000 or Sustain 10,000. Braid should be in the 50lb range as fish on the surface have a knack for going deep very quickly. The reason for such a rod is more for the lifting power to work them to the boat.

At the end of the day any king is a good king for Victoria but if you get the chance to catch on a lure, it is far more mind blowing than catching one on bait.

During the summer months, kingfish are in abundance throughout the Victorian coastline but they are extremely challenging to pin point. Research, learning and time on the water is paramount to be consistently successful on these fish and if you want to do what it takes to catch such a prestigious fish, then gear up and get out beginning your search.