Bolts1

Great fish Scratchie.. what a horse

Hi Gengar, I wouldn't be too worries about the tailor, you should be fine with your 50lb leader and they aren't your target species anyway. How did you pin your livey when it was under the float? When pinned behind the head the livey will generally pull down and away from you and I have never ended up with a tangled line. The 50lb leader may also help with this as it will be a bit stiffer. I've never tried chicken for kingfish bait, your best bet will be either live fish baits or squid. keep persisting mate, if the fish are there they will hit a well presented livey any day of the week :)

Hi Gengar, I'm no expert on bridled livies.. (only time I ever do it is when I'm trolling). When you are fishing a weighted rig or under a float you should be fine just pinning them behind the head. Probably just personal preference though, others on here might have a different opinion. You are right about the kingies taking the baits head first, but either method of rigging the baits (bridled or pinned) will hook up as the hook point is still exposed. Good luck mate, you will learn the most by getting out there an having a go, watching the guys that are catching fish and asking them for advice. No substitute for local knowledge. Bolts

Hi gengar. If you are fishing weighted on the bottom you will know you have the right amount of weight as your lovey will stay pretty much in the same spot. If you use a running sinker rig your line shouldn’t get tangled. always start by setting your drag with scales. The rating on your reel is the maximum drag it can handle while working properly. You can tighten them further but the line will not release smoothly if the fish takes a fast run. Once you get the feel of the right drag setting you can adjust up or down depending on conditions.

Hey Mate, Your 25lb braid should be fine for mainline. If you are respooling in the future I would up it a little to 30 or 40lb. The main reason you go lighter for mainline is to increase your casting distance which isnt really an issue for livebaiting - especially if you are floating your baits and swimming them out. If there are a lot of guys fishing where you are, it can be better to run mono all the way through as you have less chance of cutting other guys lines if there is a lot of action. I usually use small snapper leads or ball sinkers when livebaiting to limit the chance of getting snagged.. just take a range of sizes your first trip and you should work out how light you can go and still keep your livey under control. We never fish dead baits for kings off the rocks (as livies are pretty easy to get) but I I was fishing dead baits I would go fresh squid or a single fillet knocked off the side of your yakkas. Just make sure when you rig the fillet they sit flat and present naturally in the water. What Shimano reel are you running? you can find out most of the specs online.. just set the drag using a set of fish scales and see how smoothly the line comes off the reel under tension.

Great fish Rick.. definite goal (once this is all over) will be to get myself a snapper with a tail I can't wrap my fingers around

Hi Gengar, We fish for kings off the rocks up here but I would think the general principals are the same. With regards to line/leader fish as light as you can get away with. I generally fish my drags 1/3 of the line rating. Therefore on your 17lb leader you would be fishing about 5lb of drag. Any decent king will hve you to the hozizon or wrapped around the nearest structure in about 3 seconds. I would suggest starting with 30-40lb leader and setting your drag around 10-15lb as a start. If you are losing fish to structure or breaking off you might need to up it a little. Not sure what depths you are fishing or bottom structure you have but if you can fish a bottom rig (just enough weight to keep your livey in place) without getting snagged then either fish a bottom and top rig (as suggested by kingy chaser) or fish a top rig in low light conditions and a bottom rig during the middle of the day. I never fish two hook rigs, I usually find the kingys hit the head of the livey and hook up anyway. Very rarely do we get hits without hooking up if the kings are serious. Best of luck mate, hope to see some successful reports if you can get out. Bolts

Great fish and report Sounds like you have the plan sorted.. was only a matter of time.

Thats pretty much all fishing for me lol

lol.. great post guys.. Always a shame when a bread and butter species becomes a trophy fish due to over fishing...

Great story Waza.. we fish the break walls at night for jewfish and the rats are everywhere. I certainly wouldn’t be shutting my eyes there lol

Chin up mate, sounds like you have it a lot better than most.. few acres near the Hawksbury sounds like a dream to me Be out chasing jewies again before you know it

or... "finally" lol

Yep.. that would work

After sifting through the undersize fish we usually say something along the lines of .. "Got a proper model" "Got a real one"

Nice fish ... congrats

Hi Edogz, I'm by no means an expert on rod design but I believe you should be fine. The cast weight is based on the high forces generated during casting... Bottom bouncing is more similar to fighting a fish and you would be hoping to be pulling things greater than 350g from the depths

Great story.. one of the best fishing reports I've ever read. Makes me re-live the early beach fishing days down the south coast catching salmon after salmon with the odd bream thrown in to make you feel like a hero

Nice catch spinmaster.. what sort of fishing mate? Bait/lures? land or boat based?

Another nice bag there Scratchie, nice day to be out on the water before the crowds on the weekend

Awesome report Ragnar, nothing better than seeing a fish hit a lure off the surface

Great report Kingy, sounds like a cracker of a fish.

Hi Olof, Welcome to the site. Lake mac is a great fishing location but if you are looking for a mixture of rocks and estuary fishing I would look slightly further North at Port Stephens. It has a lot more options for rock fishing both at the heads and further south around Fingal and Boat Harbour. Still plenty of options for accommodation within walking distance of great fishing spots Bolts

Just fattening them up for when you seen them again next year

Nice mixed bag Yowie.. pity the pinkies were undersized but at least they kept you busy