Trolly/king rigs

[skunked]

What do rod/reels do y'all think work best for trolly/king rigging?

[bluerunner]

i use a widespool 4/0 Senator (113HLW), many people use 6/0's (114h) and i've seen quite a few tld 25's. Just make sure you have plenty of line capacity because you can't go chasing them down from the pier

[Bassboy]

It depends on what type of fish / where you are fishing. If that makes sense. For cobia in most cases you wont need as much line as you would for a king mack because of the way they fight. A cobia will usually just bulldog on the surface and pull like a train, but a king will make a couple of really long really fast runs away from the pier. Also most cobia caught off piers are generally bigger in size then most kings. For kings a your reel should hold ATLEAST 500 yds of what ever lbs test you wat to put on in usually you dont need anymore then 30#. For cobes you most the time wont need anymore then 300 yards unless you get lucky/unlucky, lucky if youve got it unlucky if you dont. Now depending on where your fishing at if your doing most of your fishing in Va then i wouldnt worry about it but those are the 2 main fish targeted with king rigging. But be warned there are alot bigger fish in NC and states farther south then cobes and kings. This is why i bought me a Penn Senator 6/0 with 500 yds of 50 lbs test that thing is a beast and will handle just about anything that you will want to pull up from a pier. The 6/0 is great but its a bit much for most stuff that you will catch but it never hurts to be prepared. As for the rod I have my 6/0 on a Penn Mariner stand up rod 30-80# line. For an anchor setup I have an 11'6 Tica with a Diawa sl30sh. That'll put an anchor a pretty good ways out there. Well thats my setup and a lil info on your desired fishes. Hope this helps.

[kingfisherman23]

For king rigging, I use a 4/0 Penn Senator (113) spooled with 300 yds of 30# mono then 200 yds of 70# Kevlar braid with 25 feet of doubled-line leader (so the king doesn't break off by wrapping the line around a pylon). The 4/0 works fine for kings and cobia, and can be cast easily if cobia are feeding but you are too late for a king spot.

The Senator is mounted on a custom-made rod that belonged to my grandfather. It has plenty of backbone but is soft enough that it won't tear the hooks out of a king. Also, a rod with a roller tip is preferable. It will increase the usuable life of your line and save you money.

For my anchor, I use a 15' Silstar rod with a Kobia(tm) spinning reel. I loaded it with 15# mono (~300 yds) and a 30' 40# shock leader.

This setup works great and it can be used for more than just king rigging. When I met up with fish4kings104 on CG pier last month I carried my king stuff with me and used the Senatir to drop a big bait and the Silstar to lob a red drum rig out.

When picking your setup, make sure that the rods and reels you buy are going to be able to be used for more than just kinging. You don't want to pay $200+ for a king setup that is going to sit on your rod rack for half the year.

Also realize that king fishing is not a small investment. The setup is only half the cost. Among other things, you need a pier gaff, new line for every season or two, plenty of rigs, plenty of anchor weights, a rod clamp, and unless you have muscles of steel, I suggest buying a peir cart to haul your gear to the end.

OK, my raving and ranting speech is done. :) Welcome to king rigging, hope you enjoy it.

Loose drags and big kings,
Evan

[skunked]

Well that's about what I thought. I have a heaver that I can use for an anchor and a 6/0 for a fighting rod. i really thought the 6/0 would be to much but since I have it....