YELLOW TAILED KINGFISH
Kingfish are hard fighting game fish found around 80% of the country. With strongholds on the north-eastern side of the North Island, they make their presence felt to all anglers that tangle with them. They inhabit rocky headlands and coastal reef complexes as well as seamounts and large coastal bays. Their range is significant enough to have them placed in other parts of the world including the USA, Mexico, Japan, Norfolk Island, Cost Rica and Australia.
They live in the pelagic zone and therefore are accessible to many angling techniques such as – deep jigging, trolling, high-speed spinning, live baiting, fly fishing and spearfishing. They are a schooling fish and rarely seen alone. With their size, speed and agility they can handle almost any saltwater environment and using their skills as pack hunters incredibly well – virtually anything is on the kingfish’s menu! From squid to small fish, even rock lobsters with their armour of shell and spines is no match for the ferocity of a pack of hungry kings.
Classic fishing grounds for these fish are around rocky headlands where the current make for turbulent conditions. Water mixing in these areas brings forage fish & squid, of which the kingfish will feed. They stay in a place like this until the conditions change or they have eaten all the available food.
Like most fish, kingfish are food reactive and make themselves more available to us as anglers when the warmer water starts to move. Spring into summer is peak fishing time for the majority of places around the country.
The tackle is as broad as the fish are aggressive. It’s a matter of how big you think they’re going to be?! If you know you’re in the world where the big ones play; you really can’t get big enough tackle to stop them! Watching 120-kg men get smashed into the gunwale as they try to hang onto a deep jigging outfit that’s locked and loaded with PE 12 (60kg 120lb) line and a drag done up with pliers is funny, but at the end of the day, the fish can still win! Suiting your gear to these fish is a task best done in an excellent tackle store with people who know the fish well. All types of tackle can be used from fly to game to spin and everything in between. Over the last decade, we have seen spinning outfits come into the foreground as the heavy tackle of choice when trying to handle big kings. Rat kingfish or small kings are still a handful at the best of times but can be much more fun if the tackle is suited to them appropriately. Two meters long (7′) spin rods with a medium-sized thread line reel and some 6 to 10kg braided line will handle the majority of kingfish from 2 to 10kg in weight. Some much larger specimens have been caught on this gear, but that’s all a matter of luck. Because of where the yellow-tailed kingfish like to live (around reef & structure) they can be tough to pull away from this structure before they rub you off (break the line).
Kings are opportunistic feeders and will have a go at anything that comes their way. Because they are a schooling fish, there’s always an element of competition between them.
Leader material is all-important. Weights can range from 20kg (40lb) to 100kg (220lb) and as long as 5 meters. Mostly a leader length of 2m is sufficient, and general leader weight of 20kg to 40kg is adequate. Hooks must be strong, whilst making sure that the hook isn’t too large or thick in wire gauge so the angler can still ‘set’ the hook with the line class or rod they have chosen. Look at the average size of hooks on metal deep water jigs, and you’ll get an idea of what you need. Also, keep in mind that it all depends on how hard you pull at the other end of the line that will determine whether or not your hook will straighten. There are many rods & reels on the market but only a few that can stand up to the repeated smashing that a good-sized yellow-tailed kingfish will give it. Look for the top brands and spend more on the reel than you do on the rod. Keep your rods short as this will keep the leverage point closer to your body and therefore make it easier to put pressure back onto the fish; it will hurt you less!
One sure-fire way to catch a kingfish is with live bait. Live baitfish such as yellow-tailed scad, slimy mackerel or Kahawai will do the job nicely, but there is one type of live bait that a king can’t resist: the good old squid! Squid are relatively easy to catch and keep in a live-well environment.
Casting lures for kingfish is also an excellent way to tangle with them, and many people will attest to the fact the high-speed spinning is not only fun but can be very visually spectacular! Casting a metal slug or slice style lures into feeding fish and winding it back to you as fast as you can will get you the reaction you’re looking to get. Poppers are another lure that works well for kings. The splashing that accompanies a heavily worked popper will entice one or more kingfish to come over and have a look. Skipping a long slender soft bait across the surface is also a great way to see a surface strike.
Deep jigging for kingfish is more about being able to use a fish finder correctly and wind like a champion than anything else. Finding fish on a pinnacle, lump or drop off is the key to catching them and also working out what the current or tide is going to be doing to your jigs as they sink. There are a lot of elements that go into catching fish with the deep jig but once formulated; it’s easy to replicate. Only wind your jig through the strike zone – don’t bother winding it back to the boat every drop – you’ll waste time and tire your arms out.
Check Fish & Game information regarding the capture, size limit, bag limit and fishing regulation for this species.
- Size: 1kg – 40kg
- Distribution: North and South Islands
- Hotspots: Current-licked headlands, deep pinnacles, lumps or drop offs.
- Fishing type: Medium to large hard and soft body lures. Live baits such as squid and yellowtail.
Best Lures
SNAPPER
Snapper are found in sub-tropical and southern waters throughout the North Island and the northern end of the South Island. A highly prized fish and one found quite readily around the inshore reefs and bays; the snapper is an opportunistic feeder that will devour almost anything it can fit in its mouth. Having crushing teeth and a thick-set jaw allows the snapper to crush shellfish, kina, crayfish and other hard-exoskeleton creatures with ease. A medium to slow-moving fish, the snapper will run with strength but will soon tire into a head shacking battle that has them pulling above their weight.
Prized as a table fish, the snapper is one of New Zealand’s most popular sports fish and is commercially harvested from wild stock. Broad catch restrictions apply to both rec and pro anglers regarding the size and take of these fish. Juveniles are great sport on light line with soft baits fished over shallow ground.
Also found on the outer edges of deep reef systems and inshore bommies, surf beaches and bays.
They spawn in early to late summer and feed heavily before this takes place. Snapper feed on a host of food items; therefore, they can be caught on all type of structure; mud, sand, reef, shale & weed.
Time
The best time to catch snapper is in spring through to autumn. Juveniles can be caught all year round in water 15m or less. The change of tide is a critical time to fish for snapper, as is the coming of morning and night. Peak feeding periods are well known to be four days before the full moon and then three days after the full moon. The moon cycle is not the be-all-and-end-all of snapper fishing, but it is something to take note of.
Tackle
2.1m (7′) rods and medium-sized spinning reels are very common for bait fishing, there is a range of overhead rods and reels that are just as suited. Soft baits use similar length rods to boat-based bait anglers but are much lighter in line class, and the reels tend to be smaller and lighter in physical weight. The use of lighter weight super lines is also familiar with soft baiters. Deepwater or tidally influenced areas will see anglers gravitate towards overhead outfits because of the gearing of the reels and the lead weights used to hold bottom.
Snapper will take all forms of bait and lure from pilchards to soft baits and even flies. A burley trail is an absolute key to catching snapper – without it; you’re flying blind. You can still catch them, but you will have to have luck on your side! A burley trail must consist of good quality fresh bait – the same as what you are putting on your hooks. Cut into small pieces and hand-fed over the side or dropped down in a burley cage. Remember; always fish your bait through your burley trail.
Pilchards are readily available bait that is cost-effective to use as bait and burley. Supplement your snapper baits with squid, and the fillets of almost any other fish caught live.
Snapper are also big fans of soft baits such as Gulp! which are fished on a jig-heads. Snapper can also be blind cast with soft baits by drifting in the boat and making long casts as you go. Casting at the shoreline from a boat or indeed from the shore (where deep water is present) back out will produce fish. Remember, snapper like the rough ground, and rocky shorelines provide plenty!
With the advent of super lines (braids) people have dropped their average line class for snapper fishing from 10kg (20lb) to 6kg (12lb). Also, some keen soft baiters will fish 3kg (6lb) super line where the bottom is not too rough for that little bit more fun.
Check Fish and Game information regarding the capture, size limit, bag limit and fishing regulation for this species.
- Size: 1 – 15kg
- Distribution: North Island – Northern South Island
- Hotspots: Shallow grounds, headland washes, edges of reef systems, inshore bommies, surf beaches and bays.
- Fishing type: All medium to large hard and soft body lures. Fresh baits such as pilchards and livebaits such as squid and yellowtail.
Best Lures
KAHAWAI
Kahawai are found along coastal beaches and rocky headlands, in estuary systems, bays & harbours. The juveniles can be known as ‘bay trout’ or ‘spotties’ and the adults as ‘black backs’ or ‘greenbacks’. These fish can be found by boat anglers pushing bait to the surface to feed and therefore, will generally have sea birds working just above the surface eating the pushed up bait. Looking for these birds is an excellent way to find them.
A schooling fish, the Kahawai uses its eyes to find food rather then it’s a sense of smell. So daylight hours are preferred to catch this fish. High tides on beaches and in estuaries are favourable as it allows the fish a safer depth to feed in and easier access to food.
Spin, baitcaster or fly outfits can be used with spinning gear being the preferred choice. Bait fishing with pilchards, whitebait or cockles will prove successful on beaches, rocks and in estuaries with surf rods. Angler lure and fly casting from a boat or shore use light tackle such as 3kg spin or six weight fly outfits for the most fun.
They are great all-rounders and will take any lure or fly with a resemblance to a baitfish. Moving the baitfish imitation as fast as you can, will result in more strikes.
Kahawai is very rarely alone, and as a schooling fish, they take feeding very seriously. To a Kahawai, being first in line is the key to getting more food, staying big and in front of the pack. Kahawai that are at the tail end of the school are more likely to be predated upon and are more often than not, smaller than the lead fish. Casting or trolling your lures across the face of a school of feeding fish will always get you better results than if you cut through it or go behind – same goes for casting from the shore. Kahawai have very keen eyesight and use this ability to the best of their advantage, sighting schools of smaller fish, likely to be anchovy or sardines, and pushing them to the surface from where they can’t escape. This surface commotion is seen by sea birds that take advantage of the free feed and can be seen hovering over the feeding fish picking up bait as it comes to the surface. Birds are key in quickly finding Kahawai – look for white fairy terns as these birds don’t make mistakes in the feeding patterns of fish.
Casting and retrieving lures and flies is the most effective way to catch the most Kahawai. Small to medium-sized lures (20 -80mm) are best as are lures that you can cast a long way. Metal ‘slug’ style lures are perfect for this as they are both small and heavy. Soft bait lures in the 3 to 4” lengths are also widely regarded as the pinnacle of baitfish imitations and will account for many fish. Winding these lures as fast as you can is the all-important thing to do – a slow-moving lure looks nothing like a fleeing baitfish and also gives the Kahawai too much time to look at the offering. You can wind as fast as you like, you’ll never out-run a Kahawai!
Check Fish & Game information regarding the capture, size limit, bag limit and fishing regulation for this species.
- Size: 1 – 4kg
- Distribution: North Island – Northern South Island
- Hotspots: Shallow grounds, headland washes, edges of reef systems, inshore bommies, surf beaches and bays.
- Fishing type: All medium to large hard and soft body lures. Fresh baits such as pilchards and livebaits such as squid and yellowtail.
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