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Trolling Live Baits range from Menhaden to Blue Fish to Spanish Mackerel up to schoolie King Mackerel just according to what fish you are hunting for. Sea Striker K1S1T-PRL King Rig The Slow Troll rig for the tournament fisherman.
The nose hook is a live bait size 20.
King mackerel live bait rig. Great for the weekend and tournament anglers alike - these rigs are tournament tested by our SKA member team from the King Mackerel-rich waters off Biloxi MS. To the productive waters off the famed Eastern side of Cape Lookout NC. KMT Live Bait rigs are perfect for live baits up to 11 for bait larger than 11 go with our Large Bait Rigs.
We use the best material available. How to Rig Live Bait for King Mackerel. Rigging for kingfish requires wire leaders as the fish sport formidable teeth and kingfish rigs are typically simple affairs.
A lead hook often a J-hook with one or more treble stinger hooks which can be embedded near the baits tail or allowed to swing freely. Length Between front single hook and back treble is approx 9 The King Mackerel in the picture were caught on our 3 hook live bait rig with Premium 65lb wire 10 single hook with ring and Owner trebles. Of the above baits live mackerel salmon trout and squid are in my opinion the number one baits.
What is a king rig. A king rig is a two pole system used with live bait to catch the bigger fish off the pier namely king mackeral and cobia. A king rig is a two pole system used with live bait to catch the bigger fish off the pier namely king mackeral and cobia.
TanDan from Kill Devil Hills NC helps us out with this tip. Here he is with a 47 lb cobia caught off the end of the pier. Trolling Live Baits range from Menhaden to Blue Fish to Spanish Mackerel up to schoolie King Mackerel just according to what fish you are hunting for.
Most of my Trolling Live Bait fishing is done for King Mackerel in tournaments. I like to use fresh palm sized menhaden. The fresher the bait the better off you are.
Tired beat up bait will not last long trolled behind a boat. You will know if the. They will also be made of wire now you will take your stinger rig and bait the hooks with a live fish.
One of the most common fish used as bait for King Mackerel are small Bluefish usually between 8 and 10 inches but I have seen larger used successfully. The stinger rigs are applied by hooking the center hook just below the dorsal fin. Live scads of 3 to 6 inches are ideal live baits for big mackerels.
2 hook rigs are preferred as mackerels have a habit of biting off half the bait and missing a single hook rig more often than wed like. Match the live bait hooks to the bait size and fish size you expect to catch. And the ability to quickly go from targeting Spanish mackerel and using wire leader to targeting snook and reds in the backcountry with mono leader makes things pretty easy.
And if you didnt catch how he rigged the haywire twist or the albright special or how he rigged the live shrimp on the jighead check out the videos below. Ruthless aggression is the name of the game for king mackerel so big baits and wire rigs are key when tackling this toothy predator. This live bait tournament rig has a 18-24 inch leader with a 50-78lb stainless steel swivel with black nickel 1 Owner live bait hook with a black nickel Owner 4 treble hook tied with a Snell Knot.
Mark also suggest having colored skirts in your spread. The hardest part to live-bait fishing for kings can be catching the live bait. Crews search the backside of the surf line for schools of menhaden before heading to the king mackerel grounds.
Crews typically throw a 10- to 20-foot fast-sinking cast net or use a gill net with two-inch mesh to snare live baits. King Mackerel Live Bait Rig Combo Kit. 1 - Pop-off 120 hard-wire 2oz egg sinker and 1 cork.
1 - 60 7Strand leader with two size 4 4x treble hooks and a 160 barrel swivel. 1 - Anchor made with Stainless Steel legs to hold the bottom firmly. Make sure that your lures are about the same size as the baitfish that the mackerel are currently eating.
Good live bait options include. And when using live bait here are some pro tips that Capt. The first is placing the live bait barely ahead of the ribbonfish.
The live bait stays spooked and the more it struggles the more the ribbonfish moves appearing to be chasing it. This movement is a bit irregular which makes the ribbonfish appear to be struggling and therefore easy prey. The live bait is struggling too and it puts out alarmed and frantic vibrations that heighten the natural strike response.
Baits are typically on top similar to Kite bait style of fishing. Distance conventional rod for anchor and conventional reel for fighting rod. Fifteen years ago or so a NC kingfisherman friend moved to Florida I forget where but he told me he was fishing a 1000 foot concrete pier and he took his heavers out in order to rig a live bait.
Although there are some pretty dedicated king fishermen out of Virginia Beach. When looking for king mackerel good structure is the place to begin. Wrecks reefs channel edges and tidelines all attract bait and bait attracts kings.
My favorite king mackerel setup is a 3-12 Drone spoon behind a three-ounce trolling or torpedo sinker. I use a 30-foot length of 30-pound Hi Seas mono fishing line attached to the. Get rugged surf rods and standing roads for inshore coastal fishing along with rigging kits beads and snelled hooks.
Sea Striker K1S1T-PRL King Rig The Slow Troll rig for the tournament fisherman. The bronze hooks are professionally snelled with 60 lb. The nose hook is a live bait size 20.
Live cigar minnows herring blue runners threadfin herring mullet atlantic Mackerel and ballyhoo rigged on a live bait fly-line with a 1 oz and no weight. Many of these baits can usually be caught by slowly jigging a sabiki rig or gold-hook drop loop rig in shallow water or by using a cast net in the surf. Brad Goodrich shows us this advanced circle hook mackerel-rigging technique.
The flat-line swimming mackerel has incredible authentic action and can be. At times some of the biggest kingfish are caught in water less than 15 feet deep. Anglers that target kingfish offshore will usually fish with live bait on or near the bottom.
You can use kingfish rigs that are pre-rigged and sold at most of the coastal tackle shops or you can use your favorite live bait bottom rig. If you troll or drift live baits for wahoo bluefish mackerel and other razor-mawed game fish youve no doubt had a fish make off with the lower half of your offering missing the hook entirelySuch an occurrence is a bummer with a fish of any size but when it costs you a tournament-winner or trophy the effects can be devastating.