FISH OF THE DAY KINGFISH

One of the top game fish on the Gulf and also recreational anglers chase Kingfish along the Atlantic Coast as well. Known for its speed and the pressure it puts on a fishing reel when it makes it run has earned the King Mackerel the nickname “Smoker”.

The king mackerel typically gets to about 30 lbs., but is known to exceed 90 lbs. The King as it is called is covered with small, hardly visible and loosely attached scales.  The Kingfish is usually a olive and silver r with a bright shiny iridescence on the sides, and white on the belly. With big cutting-edged teeth that look a lot like those of the bluefish. You may have hook a King Mackerel while fishing but likely only for a moment because the razor sharp teeth cut anything other than a steel leader in about a second.

The king mackerel is a subtropical species of the Atlantic Coast and common from North Carolina to Brazil, and as far south as Rio de Janeiro, and once and a while as far north as the Gulf of Maine but the temperature of the water is critical Kingfish like 68 to 84 °F and that is why you can catch close inshore in early spring and then run to the cooler waters offshore in the later summer and when it is really hot like the last few years the Kingfish does move North. The reports received from Wahoo Tackle and fishing is that the Kingfish bite has been further out and further north during the later parts of the summer. Kings like to be where the action is and that like any other predator is BAIT, 40–150 ft. is where the King hunts.  Larger kings often come inshore, in the mouths April through June to inlets and harbors or spots with a live bottom and big pods of bait. There are some anglers who catch big Kings at the edge of the Gulf Stream which drops to depths of 500+ ft.  There are at least two groups of king mackerel, one that ranges in the Gulf of Mexico from Texas in summer to the middle-east coast of Florida from November through March. Spawning occurs during the summer off the northern Gulf Coast.  The Second group of Kings is abundant from North Carolina in spring and fall and then heads to southeast Florida for spawn around May. They spawn then head for the deeper water off the Carolinas in the winter. If you are going to try Kingfish the winter time is Florida is not the time take a trip to Wilmington and north towards the outer Banks. 

Most people in the know say the best time to catch smoker king mackerel in North is the late fall, and the best way to catch them is to use live baits. Menhaden or pogies, fatback, bunker, work well, but if you can find some Bluefish and mullets they can do the job as well. If you want to try your hand at a big Kingfish then October to mid-November you have 6 week window and then the water temps drop and the fish move a lot deeper and become more difficult to find. If you want to know more about how to catch and where to catch a big king send us a email to info@wahootackleandfishing.com and we will be happy to share a little local knowledge with you.

 Tackle Box:

Kingfish will take a variety of natural and artificial bait, including jigged and trolled lures. Live bait is by far the best, at times soft plastics work well, particularly lures in larger sizes retrieved quickly.

 Kingfish things that move fast and jigging are highly effective with high-speed vertical jigging this works best in deeper situation where you need to cover the water column,. Surface poppers will work when you have a feeding frenzy or birds working and you know it is Mackerel. Live bait rigs using a sinker, or at the surface under a balloon or float are also popular techniques. Tackle used needs to reflect the size of kingfish. Larger the fish heavier tackle since kingfish often inhabit reef territory and are amongst the most powerful fish. Lines 20-50lb test for livebaiting or trolling; for vertical jigging lets go 65-100 braid with the right leader. Lighter line can be used when softbaiting, spinning or livebaiting small baits for school kingfish. Wahoo likes to catch big Kings in the spring with Medium Heavy Bass rods and 20 pound Braid with 24 inch Steel AFW leader with 5 inch blue and green soft baits or Bomber, Yozuri or Mann’s had baits. Not for the meek at heart and crank the boat or you will be spooled but it is a rush. Terminal tackle should be a minimum of 60lb., depending on bait and hook size, and up to 150lb swivels should be sturdy and Strong sharp hooks, 6/0 to 12/0, depending on bait size, strong short-shank hook, including circle hooks, for bait work fine to. Finally a good quality spinning reels with the line capacity and drag performance to handle kingfish. Penn, Daiwa, Fin-Nor, Okuma all have size 6-8 that can get the job done. Rods  either heavy spin-casting or baitcasting models.  Vertical fishing deep water short stand-up designs. We like to to think that the Catcher rods Sailfish, bait pitch, and Boat rod all cover the bait and popping for normal Kings. The Catcher 6’6” stand up if you want a vertical jigging rod.
Recipe: We want say anything but eat them fresh, smoke them but do not freeze them they will never be the same. Keep the smaller ones that are just legal and release the bigger ones.

Here is our tried and true recipe from Southern King Fish Association.

Place the entire fillet of king mackerel (skin on) in a bag, with plenty of Zesty Italian salad dressing added. Marinate the mackerel for at least 45-minutes before grilling. Preheat the grill to a medium temperature. Place a large piece of aluminum foil on the grill so that the skin of the mackerel will not stick to the grill. The marinated mackerel fillet is then placed on the aluminum foil and seasoned with seasoning salts. Slices of lemon are also placed on top of mackerel fillet and the lid is then closed. Grill the mackerel from 15-20 minutes, or until the meat is white in color when the fillet is separated with a fork. Remove the entire mackerel and aluminum off from the grill and cut the fish into appropriate proportions. Umm-umm good!