# King Mac From Tybee!!! Pic!!!!!!!!!



## fstrthnu (Jun 14, 2005)

This figures, the week I can't fish due to tests all week the kings move into tybee. This fellow has caught several this week!!!   

I WILL be out there this weekend with my king rigs...man, I can't believe it, I've king fished that pier for more than two years with NOTHING to show for it in the way of kings. wow....just wow and congrats to the fisherman.


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## backrowboypa (Jul 21, 2006)

The guy has a very interesting rig...an up-rigger for lack of a better term...he uses a big anchor type of thing w/ hangar wire to grab the sand. He casts it waaay the **** out there. It is hard to estimate casting distances on water from the pier, but I am guessing 400 feet and that was straight into a 15 kt wind....he then runs a line off of that line with live bait from a second rod. It slides down the line w/ the anchor so that the bait fish is from the surface to about 6 feet deep. A clothes pin holds the line w/ the baitfish. When a king hits it, it pulls the line from the clothes pin and he has the fish on. He hadn't caught anything last weekend...guess it finally worked....wish I could have seen it!!!!


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## notso (Jul 18, 2005)

backrowboypa:

I'm definately NOT a pier expert, but what you're describing sounds like the standard "pin rigging" setup.


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## MCS (Aug 15, 2006)

backrowboypa said:


> The guy has a very interesting rig...an up-rigger for lack of a better term...he uses a big anchor type of thing w/ hangar wire to grab the sand. He casts it waaay the **** out there. It is hard to estimate casting distances on water from the pier, but I am guessing 400 feet and that was straight into a 15 kt wind....he then runs a line off of that line with live bait from a second rod. It slides down the line w/ the anchor so that the bait fish is from the surface to about 6 feet deep. A clothes pin holds the line w/ the baitfish. When a king hits it, it pulls the line from the clothes pin and he has the fish on. He hadn't caught anything last weekend...guess it finally worked....wish I could have seen it!!!!


It's the only way I've ever seen it done..... aside from floating a balloon


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## bigphil (Jul 9, 2006)

MarineCorpsSgt said:


> It's the only way I've ever seen it done..... aside from floating a balloon


Ditto. Thought that was the standard pier king rig.


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## Keith (Aug 8, 2006)

*King rig*

The rig described sounds like a rig used on some Gulf Piers and is called a Trolley Rig. Works great for setting surface baits out for King, bonito and whatever is cruising. Be polite and make sure you use your anchor line up wind from everybody. The rig is basically just an anchor form of an outrigger. Good luck and happy fishing.


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## backrowboypa (Jul 21, 2006)

Hey, c'mon guys!! What do you expect from a complete newbie???  I just hit the pier today for my 4th time....EVER. So if I post something that helps...thank me for the unexpected help....If it is something really stupid (like the Standard King Rig thing) just let me know!!!! BTW, not sure which fish this was in the pic, but he caught one that was 33lb on Sunday on a mullet, and then a 38lb on Monday on a blue.


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## bigphil (Jul 9, 2006)

Backrow, didnt even realize you could have been a newbie. Hope I wasn't offensive. The rig you describe is really the only way I have heard of kingfishing from the pier.


I remember the first time I saw it many moons ago off a pier in myrtle beach. For years I didn't know it was for Kings. Looked really cool.  Just seemed like a lot of work to keep a bait on top. We fished like that off Jekyll pier one day and people looked at us like we were crazy.


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## backrowboypa (Jul 21, 2006)

Keith said:


> The rig described sounds like a rig used on some Gulf Piers and is called a Trolley Rig. Works great for setting surface baits out for King, bonito and whatever is cruising. Be polite and make sure you use your anchor line up wind from everybody. The rig is basically just an anchor form of an outrigger. Good luck and happy fishing.


Trolley Rig...yep, that's what he called it...
Didn't see anything Wed. afternoon other than a couple small Blues and a small shark. One lady had a big run on a live mullet but lost it....I am probably going out Friday evening and/or Sunday evening...if anyone is going to be at the pier, let me know. I need all the help I can get..thx


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## RuddeDogg (Mar 20, 2004)

*Nice fish*

Congrats on the catch.


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## Fatback (Aug 6, 2003)

Fished Tybee pier regularly from 1999-2005 and never saw or heard of any kings. Saw many guys go out year after year running pin rigs with no success. Heard stories about the old pier (burned down in the late 60's) and they got Kings all the time. So, for me there is a clear correlation between beach re-nourishment and fishing quality/quantity at the the pier (kings and other fish). The last year they dumped thousands of tons of sand on the beach was 1999. Fishing was slim that year and improved each and every year after that. And now seven years later we are getting Kings (there was another report of a small king landed earlier in the summer).

Beach re-nourishment is great for the tourists and the hotels/restaurants, but scews the fisherman. But there is hope!!!!!! The Feds failed to anny up their part of the funds for re-nourishment for this year (the plan is to do it every seven years). So we got at least next season before they mess things up again. Maybe the sand fleas will come back to.


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## MBsandflea (Jun 27, 2004)

The two line trolly rig was actually started on piers on the coast of North Carolina. It was used by king fishermen who wanted a way to keep bait active and looking like it was injured, which attracts predator fish like kings and spanish. It also allowed them to live bait fish without using balloons, which don't work well with incoming winds or high tides. 

This entire setup is also where the idea for kite fishing came from. If I remember correctly, kite fishing offshore was actually used by NC fishermen in king tournaments and spread from there. It caught on fast because for a number of years the top finishers in most of the tournaments used kites and swept most of the top spots. 

Just a little history lesson for those who're interested. I'm probably not 100% accurate on all of it, but you get the basic info on the history.


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## emanuel (Apr 2, 2002)

And just think of all the times I ran trolley rigs off that pier and never caught a single one. If fishing keeps getting like that, I might have to move back.


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## fstrthnu (Jun 14, 2005)

emanuel said:


> And just think of all the times I ran trolley rigs off that pier and never caught a single one. If fishing keeps getting like that, I might have to move back.



Same here man. I'll be out there in the AM with a King rig out....


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## sinker man (Jun 16, 2006)

There are several proven methods for catching kings from a pier. The most similar is to throw out an anchor. An 8oz sinker (3 sided is best)usually suffices for an anchor. A 5'-8' leader with a large oval float is snapped on to the anchor line baited up with a live bait and slid down the anchor line. Along the panhandle of Florida most kingfisherman freeline live baits with a large spinning reel and form a conga line on the end of the pier following their bait as it moves down current. On the upcurrent side there is usually a couple of more fishermen snobbling. Snobblers cast a dead cigar minnow out (again on a large spinng outfit) let it sink to the bottom and bring it back with long fast sweeps of the rod, pausing as necessary to let it sink. Another proven method is simply plugging with a large plug or spoon. The one method that I have never seen done from a pier is kite fishing. I have a penn 49 that I intend to eventually use as a kite reel for kingfishing from the surf. You gotta pick just the right place and time to make that idea work but the New Zelanders have the technology all ironed out. South Florida sailfishermen have been using kites for decades now. Al


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## SHADE12 (Oct 12, 2004)

*tybee kings*

I Fished With Randy Wed Evening. He Had No Luck On The Kings. Him And His Wife Left The Pier At Low Tide And Fished A Hole On The South End For Trout. She Waxed Him Big Time. They Caught 7 Trout And One Red. They Spent The Night With Me And Fished The Spot Thur Morning 4 Trout And One Slot Red, She Beat Him Again. Nice People. Randy Made Sure He Riged Out Of Peoples Way And Asked Befor He Set Up.  Shade12


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## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

MBsandflea said:


> If I remember correctly, kite fishing offshore was actually used by NC fishermen in king tournaments and spread from there.


Right about the trolley rig (I believe), but kite fishing was actually pioneered by Australian shark fishermen, who used it to deposit heavy dead baits far past the breakers where big sharks fed. The baited line was attached to the kite with a quick-release pin (often a clothespin strengthend by a rubber band) and when the bait was far enough out the line was jerked to pull it out of the clip.

As for the reason behind the two-line or trolley rig, it serves three purposes. First, like MBsandflea said, it keeps the bait struggling on the surface. Second, it allows the fighting rig, which must be a standup boat rod, to be placed a good distance from the pier because conventional reels and standup rods don't easily lend themselves to casting without a large weight. Which brings us to purpose three, and the genius behind the trolley rig. Because kings are rarely ever hooked in the mouth (the trebles usually snag the fish as it swipes the bait) and their skin is tissue paper-thin, the fighting rig must be able to connect directly with the fish without bothersome weights or excess rigging. the clip on the trolley rig allows that to happen, while still moving the bait away from the pier.

There. A veritable dissertation on pier king rigging. Now it's time for me to go get some pizza.

Evan,
aka KFM23


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## MBsandflea (Jun 27, 2004)

I knew I wasn't completely thorough on the total picture, but I do know that kite fishing became popular for Atlantic fishermen after NC boats used the method to tear up kings and take a large number of tournament wins and places. 

And Amen to the catching them in the sides, of all the kings I've seen brought up very few were mouth hooked. I gaffed one that came in with a treble behind the gills, one under the doral and one in the tail. Perfect gaff, the fish just laid on top of the water on it's side....ahhhhh, the good ol' days!


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## kingfisherman23 (Dec 14, 2003)

The biggest problem with kite fishing from piers or the surf is the wind direction. I've hardly ever had a favorable wind (one that was blowing more or less straight out from the pier) when I was king rigging. The trolley method allows you to guide the bait in any direction you want regardless of wind.


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## sinker man (Jun 16, 2006)

The biggest problem with kite fishing for kings from the surf isn't just that the wind usually isn't in the offshore direction but that even on the days the wind is in the right direction to get the bait out it is in the wrong direction for bringing kings in towards the beach. Even by picking just the right beach for the day you rarely will find the kings inshore close enough (500-600 yds) to be effective when the wind is blowing out. There are several factors that cause the fish to move offshore when the wind is "Right". One is an offshore wind eventually causes downwelling which muddies up the water inshore. The stronger the wind the quicker this will happen.


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## MBsandflea (Jun 27, 2004)

The "muddy" water equals no kings deal is more myth than truth. While water that looks like coffee is no good, I've seen and even caught a king in less than clear water. Like I said, coffee colored is bad, but you don't need perfect water color to catch a king. 

Either way, I think attempting to kite fish from a pier or the beach would be a complete waste of time. You'd probably have a better chance using a balloon float with the outgoing tide and wind.


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## king&strut (Jun 17, 2004)

yep...the trolley rig was introduced back in the 60's in north carolina. before that, they would cast a 6 oz. weight as far as they could. then, they would slide a large cork down that line via large swivel and a 5-6 ft. long leader with treble hooks. when the king hit you had to fight the fish and the 6 oz. weight. several kings were caught because the king could still run or "smoke" the reel with a light drag. others were lost due to the king getting wrapped around the anchor and breaking everything. i still use this method if there is a mud line outside the pier and the trolley rig can't be set far enough away from the pier. otherwise, the trolley rig is the ticket.....i have caught several kings, spanish, cobia, sharks, jack crevelle, and tarpon this way for the past 20 years......


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