# Kingfish in the Surf..



## steve grossman (Feb 1, 2008)

Need a few opinions. Do you guys like bloodworms, fishbites, squid, or sandfleas as bait, or all of the above??

Do you fish right off the beach, or chuck it way out there?? Float rigs, or without floats?? Do you like bank sinkers to cover more area, or stationary with a pryamid??

Howa about a 7 foot rod with 10 pound test??? I want to hear from the P and S experts eho catch alot of kings on any given day..

Thanks--Steve


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

up here most of us use a top & bottom rig. Real blood worms seem to work the best at least for me. I use a pyramid sinker 3-4 oz.


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

Well, you are in MD and I am in Florida, but it's probably not much different.

_*Do you guys like bloodworms, fishbites, squid, or sandfleas as bait, or all of the above*??_

Shrimp peices or fleas are tops. Any cut bait in small pieces works too.

_*Do you fish right off the beach, *_

Yes, the whiting are in close to catch the fleas churned loose by the waves breaking on the sand. Whiting that get too far out get eaten by something else. They make a very nice snook or shark bait. Sometimes snook will chase them right up on the sand.

_*Float rigs, or without floats?? *_

Either way, if water is dirty I use the little yellow floats out at the hooks on two hook dropper rigs I tie myself.

_*Do you like bank sinkers to cover more area, or stationary with a pryamid??*_

Stationary with a pryamid, the lightest that will hold

_*Howa about a 7 foot rod with 10 pound test??? *_

An excellent idea...


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## eric (Oct 24, 2007)

some old timer told me there is kingfish all the way here in NYC... anyone know if that is true?

fishing so long, i never seen ANYONE pull one up..


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## mantriumph (Sep 12, 2006)

ooeric said:


> some old timer told me there is kingfish all the way here in NYC... anyone know if that is true?
> 
> fishing so long, i never seen ANYONE pull one up..


,,,probably because your casting too far out ooeric


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## SnookMook (Jan 7, 2004)

Wow, just goes to show you. When I first read the topic title of this thread, the Floridian in me thought kingfish=king mackerel, then I realized you meant what we call whiting down here.

Here's a nice pic of a Gulf whiting I caught a couple of weeks ago while fishing at Redfish Pass on Captiva Island. The coloration and dorsal fin is bit different than their northern cousins, but they're pretty much the same fish.










I caught a bunch of nice size ones off the beach just south of the pass and from the jetty in the pass looking northwest. 

I mostly use light spinning tackle bottom finder rigs with a short leader with cut pieces of fresh dead shrimp. 

In Florida you can't go wrong with that rig. I've caught em with as little weight as a split shot up to barrel sinkers weighing 2-3 oz's depending on the tide and current. 

Of course Gulf Coast is much calmer surf than the Atlantic Coast. Either way down in Florida we fish pretty close to shore for them. I've caught many fish right in the depression (surf trough) close to shore.


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

yup Northern kingfish, the VA king is the one with the dark bars...


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## steve grossman (Feb 1, 2008)

I remember one year at assateague, we banged them all day, one after the other, not more than 20 feet out. Lots and lots of fun with all that action. I think it was early fall, using bloods. All of a sudden, a monster hit that small hook, and I held on for dear life. A nice 10-13 second run, and then it was over--hook pulled out. Could it have been a nice striper, red drum?? Ill never know, but wow that got the blood pressure going-and I always have thought about the ONE THAT GOT AWAY...


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## SmoothLures (Feb 13, 2008)

I've caught them on tons of different baits... Most recently they wouldn't hit squid or shrimp, but would hit finger mullet fillets. Go figure. So I guess that means try a bunch of different baits until you get what they want. Shrimp definitely works so don't forget it.


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

I've caught the biggest ones here on North Topsail on cut mullet... they're CANNIBALS...  get a 6-8"er and cut thin strips for bait...


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## Rocks&Reds (Mar 15, 2007)

Rockfish1 is right on the money they love to eat other kingfish, we were fishing AI/MD today and we caught 6,well 7 including the one we used for bait and missed numerous others.I've caught them on all kinds of bait ,but a small cut up king works very well.:fishing:


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

Not an expert....

Bait - fat sand fleas

Rig - hand ties double bottom rigs / size 2/0 long shank Eagle Claws.

Rods : 1033 / Abu 5500 / 10 lbs test / will cast 2-3 oz's

Tica 9 ft / Laguna 4500`/ 10 lbs test / will cast 2-3 oz.

I like a little drift, will use pan-cake sinkers but usually carry 3 sided pyramids.

Fish are usually found scavenging in the drop off.


Here's a nice one I caught yesterday. She got invited to dinner.

6/7/08


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## SnookMook (Jan 7, 2004)

Nice pic. That one don't look much different than the ones we catch down here in Florida on the Gulf side.


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## Dr. Bubba (Nov 9, 1999)

Nice one Al, didja weigh it?

Snook, that's a southern kingfish which looks alot like the gulf kingfish. Google up northern kingfish and you'll see one with more coloration (the bars mentioned above) and an elongated first dorsal spine.

Yes, they make it to NY. I caught a nice northern in long island sound once.

And to answer the original question, yes all of the above, plus what everyone else has added, plus peelers! Definitely have more than two types of bait everytime. Their preferences usually change day to day.

Man, all this mullet talk has got me gettin hungry, and I already ate....


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

MMMMMM

Got mullet?


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## surfchunker (Apr 10, 2006)

*yuppers*

I like small salted pieces of shrimp and blood worms ....... I usually have one rod out with each one ..... I use a double bottom drop rig also ..... and fish just outside where the waves are breaking on the beach .... but sometimes it doesn't matter what the bait is ...... cut blues other mullet .... (another name) squid and I fell in love this week with Kahle Hooks in 4-6 size ..... I never missed one this past week on them ...... just wish I could find baitholder Kahles .......


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## baitfish13 (May 14, 2008)

CORBINA.......If your in cali !!!!!!!
Gulp sand worm,double dropper loop,3 oz sinker on bottom #6 hooks


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## sand flea (Oct 24, 1999)

The most confusingly named fish around: kingfish, roundhead, whiting, sea mullet, and probably a few other names I'm forgetting.

My favorite bait is sandfleas (particularly soft ones) followed by cut bait, then synthetic baits like Gulp or Fishbites.

The lightest sinker possible to barely hold and maybe roll a little (1-3 ozs. usually). I put one just at the back of the shorebreak in really shallow water, one in the slough and one on the inside of the bar.


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## pier-legend (Jan 14, 2004)

..the Southern variety..(silver with the black tip tail)...are SERIOUS business Oct-Dec. from Carolina bch to Topsail....
....every year there are some 3 lb. up landed...
lots of 2 lbers..
..but THE BAIT ... without a doubt is SAND-FLEAS..if you want a manster mullet...FORGET any bait but a flea..
...I have fished shrimp beside a "flea-fisherman" and while I caught fish ..HE CAUGHT Mega Mullets...
...I have had the ONLY FLEAS in a conga line of mullet fishermen before...And I HAD ALL THE CITATIONS....it does make that much difference...(at least in my area)....


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## perchnut (Feb 8, 2008)

and whats the best way to cook these bad boys.....just fillet and fry em up?


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## stonemason (Aug 4, 2006)

no limit, right? look like croakers...


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## Cerberus (Nov 1, 2007)

perchnut said:


> and whats the best way to cook these bad boys.....just fillet and fry em up?


Yes.

In fact, one of the best ways is to gut and scale them, then bake or grill or deep fry them whole and just pick them apart. Works great on the smaller ones that don't fillet well.


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## Rockfish1 (Apr 8, 2005)

Cerberus said:


> Yes.
> 
> In fact, one of the best ways is to gut and scale them, then bake or grill or deep fry them whole and just pick them apart. Works great on the smaller ones that don't fillet well.


I only fry with the skin on if they'll all be eaten at one sitting... the skin gets like rubber if you try to eat them the next day...


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