A great number would read the heading to this article and think you were talking about some new history on the Kings of old. That really doesn’t describe what it’s about but, does have some relevance to many of us that chase these fish all spring and summer. The king mackerel is commonly referred to as just a king or kingfish and they are all quite that and more for many of us. I do not know of one person that doesn’t love the sound of a rod clicker exploding and a fish running line off a reel at mach 4. These fish have a voracious appetite and a very violent strike. With a mouth armed with teeth and a tail built for speed it’s important to use a well armed arsenal.
The first thing you need is good lively bait. Pogies can be found on the beach during this time of the year and caught with a good cast net. Greenies or threadfin herring can be jigged at the rocks and caught on the rips both north and south of the St. John’s River. Cigar minnows and sardines can be acquired on near shore wrecks and reefs by using Sabiki rigs. A number 6 Sabiki rig works best for me but, you might find an 8 is also very effective. Fill your live well with an ample number of these and the fun is ready to start.
For tackle I prefer a 7 ft rod with some meat at the base but a fairly limber tip or fast tip. I then put a Penn Squall 30 or 40 trolling reel with a lever drag and 30 lb mono in a high vis green on the reel. These reels have a high rate of retrieve and can hold a couple of hundred yards of line. Kingfish are notorious for slamming bait and running 50yds of line off the reel before you can get the rod out of the holder. This large capacity gives you ample line in case the fish makes a huge run. I then put 20-30yds of 20lb clear line at the end of the high vis line to make the bait troll better and create an illusion of free swimming bait. Try this trick and it will make for more hook ups. The last piece of tackle is the wire king rig. If you haven’t made one before it’s better to visit a store like Strike Zone and purchase them prerigged. If the staff has time they will show you how to make them with both straight wire and seven strand. These rigs use treble hooks and do require some skill to make but, can be easy to learn how to make from scratch. I use a series of style rigs like single hooks for my front hook and a treble for my stinger (rear), double treble hooks, different colors like red hooks and shiny stainless ones can make the difference, and even ones with skirts. The pros at Strike Zone can help you and show you the different styles. The final test is take all this newly learned wisdom and catch a few kings. Troll the beaches in spots like the Southeast hole,the Red Tops, the rips of the inlet, and the Chum hole for good results. The local party grounds like MR, RL, 9Mile, SS, Hospital Grounds and Pablo Grounds to name a few are great places to find good numbers of kingfish. Trolling is best done very slowly and if your boat has a tendency to troll too fast you can use a pickle bucket as a sea anchor to slow it down. It’s very important to troll the bait only as fast as it can swim. Too fast and you will drown the bait. Give these tips a try and I believe it will improve your hook up ratio.