[dropcap]S[/dropcap]ummertime is here, the time to enjoy the best ocean conditions and the best choices of fishing. Kingfish are back and will be here for the next few months. Kingfish are a great fish to bend a rod and make blistering fast runs. You can find them from the beach out to the ledge in 90 to 100 feet of water on the Treasure Coast. With the calmer conditions that we will be seeing through the summer, you can get to the kingfish in a smaller boat just off the beach.
For catching kingfish, you need to find the bait schools off the beach out to about 30 foot depths. Fish the edge of the bait schools with bigger shiny spoons or drones or catch some of the baits out of the schools and slow troll them on the edge of the schools. The kingfish will be nearby, and when they notice your live baits in distress, they will make a meal of them.
Kingfish can also be found in the deeper waters around structure or hard bottom. Troll live baits around these areas and keep watch at your depth finder for bait pods on the bottom. Kingfish will usually be near these bait pods and structure. In the deeper depths, you should cover the water column. I recommend using a downrigger, if available, and put it halfway down between the surface and the bottom, and then have your other baits at the surface. Some days all your bites will be on the surface baits, some days on the downrigger baits, and other days you will have bites on both the downrigger and surface baits. The live baits in our area for kingfish are pilchards, threadfin herring and you can’t ever go wrong with a big blue runner. I suggest putting the big blue runner on the downrigger, if possible, or on the surface. It should be the farthest line out in your spread. All of these baits can be caught in our local waters.
For kingfishing I recommend using a fast tip rod to keep steady pressure on the fish. A reel with fast line retrieval is the way to go for getting all the slack line back in fast if your fish is swimming back towards the boat. Always use wire leader as these fish have razor sharp teeth and will cut through mono like butter. Attach two to three feet of #6 wire from your main line to a #4 treble hook and, from your treble hook, attach another treble hook with three to five more inches of wire (called a stinger rig). Many times kingfish will strike the middle portion of your bait, so the stinger hook will give you a chance to hook him in the head or other parts of his body.
Kingfish are edible. Smaller kingfish are good on the grill or broiled. Bigger kingfish are great smoked. There are also many good fish smack (fish dip/spread) recipes that you can find on the internet. Be safe, have fun and keep an eye on the sky for afternoon storms!
