Inshore Kingfish Fishing
January is a good month to have a break from snapper fishing and mix it up with some kingfish action. During the summer months kingfish take up residence in the Waitemeta Harbour, making them a good species to target from small boats. One of my favourite small boat kingfish spots is the Rangitoto Channel. Keeping in mind kingfish like current and structure, you can easily select suitable locations to have a go at catching a kingfish. My two favourite ways to target inshore kingfish is by using lures or live baits.
I use jigs, poppers and soft plastics when lure fishing. The best technique is to whiz around the marker buoys and poles and have a few casts or drops at each location. Usually you will know in the first few casts or drops if there are any kingfish present. I will spend 5 minutes at each location and if there are no fish hooked I move to the next location. In the Rangi Channel there's a lot of locations to have a go at, just look on your chart to find them. You can even plan a circuit of spots to visit.
I use similar techniques using live baits. However, first you need to catch your live baits. I anchor up near any rocks and use burley to attract baitfish. The best baitfish to use is piper followed by yellowtail. I do prefer piper however they are very delicate and die easily; they must be handled with care. Yellowtail is much hardier but do not work as well as live piper in general.
When live baiting use a rod you can cast and manoeuvre the boat on the upwind side of the marker buoy so you can cast your live bait with the wind towards the structure. Use a small 3/0 live bait hook rigged through the nose of your live bait.
The fish are generally between 10-20 lbs so 10kg line is a good size to use. However I have caught them up to 50lbs in the Rangi Channel so use heavier gear if you see any big fish.
All the gear and tackle you need is available at The Bait Station in Constellation Drive, Mairangi Bay. The staff can show you how to rig for live-baiting or lure-fishing for kingfish. They can also advise you on a few good kingfish haunts. It's a lot of fun, you don't need a large boat and eating kingfish can make a nice change from eating snapper.
Come down to The Bait Station; get yourself some gear and advice and get out there and give it a go.
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