Trolling questions for kings

How fast should I troll a stretch 30 or stretch 25 for kingfish?

What other lures work well?

I have never caught a king and I just want to get one in the boat.

T
Lures are for early kings. Use live baits on a stinger rig

I tried three times to get out and troll last week but got turned back due to rough water. Boat builder I'm with you ... just want to get one in the boat ... the forecast doesn't look like slick enough weather for my boat for at least a week or so ... hoping it comes together soon.

A live mullet....

or a live hardtail drifted under a balloon will catch every King mackerel that swims.

s&r

How far out?

spurrs and racks said:

or a live hardtail drifted under a balloon will catch every King mackerel that swims.

s&r

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What is the best way to catch a hard tail?

Thanks for the advice.

any one of a number of.....

multiple fly bait rigs you can buy will work or tie a couple crappie jigs on your line work just as well.

Any live bait you catch will work, the only thing I have never caught kings on are moon fish.

And I have friends who say they will eat those.

Mullet, hardtails, cigar minnows, threadfin....all are real good bait. It's not a troll but a drift with live bait.

Much like you see fishermen drifting for stripers in our fresh water lakes.

s&f

I was out last weekend trolling lures for kings. 5-7 knots is your speed. You will want lures with 3 hooks. 2 hook lures will catch kings but you'll miss most hits.

Live bait is my favorite - idling along with 4 pinfish, pogies, sardines, mullet behind the boat is more fun.

Troll to find em, then switch to livies.

If you are gonna drift, you can run frozen sardines, cigars, etc. under a duster (small skirt) on a 2-hook rig.

Thanks for the tips ... as soon as I can get a 1-2ft seas day Im going to try. How far out did you say?

Rich M said:

I was out last weekend trolling lures for kings. 5-7 knots is your speed. You will want lures with 3 hooks. 2 hook lures will catch kings but you'll miss most hits.

Live bait is my favorite - idling along with 4 pinfish, pogies, sardines, mullet behind the boat is more fun.

Troll to find em, then switch to livies.

If you are gonna drift, you can run frozen sardines, cigars, etc. under a duster (small skirt) on a 2-hook rig.

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Thanks. I was trolling at 4 to 5 mph I think it was too slow. I did get one good hit on a stretch 25 but whatever it
Was chewed up the lure pretty good and got off.

When you drift with live bait do you use your outboard to control the drift?

Try bumping the speed up to say 6 or 7 mph.

When I drift, I just drift - and will use live and dead bait. A king has no hesitation to taking a dead sardine with a little duster.

When I slow troll live bait, the motor goes in and out of gear. You are essentially making your baits swim behind the boat. That's more of a controlled drift but you can go into the wind too.

My kingfish bait rods are 7 ft ugly sticks, rated for like 25# max - like long noodles with Shimano Triton 2000 levelwind reels. They hold 250 yards of 25 and will land most fish I catch (haven't had a fish spool me yet - taken kings up to roughly 20#). If I ever hit a 40 pound king I might loose it. Might put braid on the reels next time I change the line out.

The light wire double hook rigs have #2 trebles about 4-6 inches apart and are good for avg 6-8 inch baits.

Planers and such get heavier tackle. Boat rod with 50-80 line but run the drag light. Can run a release off a planer too...

If you were trolling a stretch 25 and it got all chewed up, you are talking king or cuda.

That the kings "slash" their prey has them hitting the lures in the middle a lot. Your rod will bounce once - like the lure hit a rock. We had 2 kings for 10 or 12 hits last Saturday down in FL. One pink lure got nailed 3 times in a row - never did hook that one up.

A Bomber long A with 3 hooks on a planer or downrigger works good. That middle hook often makes a difference. I was a guest and didn't get to "play" like I normally do. I'm more for trolling spoons or ballyhoo on planers, slow troll live bait, or drift dead bait than trolling big lures. Too many missed hits on big lures.

Ballyhoo are a great bait but you need to have more than just the front hook. If you use a bait needle, you can place a hook close to the tail, put a 4-inch white or pink octopus (or tinsel insert) on the nose and put it out with the planer. They'll hit it.

One other thing could be playing the fish. They can come off easy and get a boost of energy when they see the boat. They need to be able to run - why I like the limber poles - lots of flex to keep the fish hooked. If you "set the hook" while drifting bait you will pull the hook out of the fish - ask me how I know...

What I think is a good idea is to troll for an hour or two with a lure or ballyhoo and mark your GPS where you get bites (or throw a marker) and then work the area with live or dead bait. They are school fish. With your GPS points, you'll know where to start next time.

They do like wrecks and reefs and rockpiles - if there is a wreck in 70-90 ft I'd be you could find a king around it.

OH - don't be afraid to put a 1 or 2 oz sinker in front of your baits to fish them a little deeper.

I'll slow troll a naked live bait and one with a 1 oz sinker to see who gets hit first. Nothing....then will try a 2 oz...

Want to thank everyone for taking the time to type all that out.

try learning the kite, anchor on a rock and enjoy a few tasty critters and then seeing the strike on the top

This post is getting way to complicated. Jimmy is dead on. Stinger rig with live bait trolling at idle speed IE 1-2 knots. Pogies work great or you can jig up baits with a sabiki around structure. Thats all you need.

Thanks for all the advice. I did not get as many chances to go this summer as I thought I would but I am goin to try again Labor Day weekend if the weather works out.

Which reef or what depth should I try?

boatbuilder said:

Thanks for all the advice. I did not get as many chances to go this summer as I thought I would but I am goin to try again Labor Day weekend if the weather works out.

Which reef or what depth should I try?

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I troll both baits on top, sometimes I drop down to 15 or 20 ft but you will get more cuda bites if you are only targeting kings