Author Topic: Derwent kingy session (Read 284 times)

rogun · « **on:** February 16, 2019, 05:17:34 pm »

Ventured out at 5.30 am this morning, decided to make tracks for the Derwent and maybe catch up with some of those elusive Kings,
Left Montagu bay boat ramp and turned left toward Geilston bay. From the very start my sounder was absolutely full of bait fish, some were spread out and others were bunched into a ball with larger fish around them. Big frustrating hour followed with half a dozen Kingies following my big white soft plastic. Every fish turned away at the boat, they just would not take. I had a squid for bait so I dropped it over the side and watched it slowly sink out of sight. Bang! a decent hit, a big run then nothing, the squid was ripped off the hook. They weren't big fish by any means but wow can they hit hard and run like trains.
Everything went quiet so I trolled bibbed minnows down to Tranmere point and back without success.
I pulled the boat up inside Geilston bay and dropped my anchor, I then set a berley trail and added bread to the mix, It all went crazy with salmon erupting all around me.
The result, No Kingies but a decent swag of large salmon instead. I think every boat that turned up must have caught their bag, they were so thick. even the shore fishers were getting into them. There is bait all over the river at present.
I will have another crack at those Kings in a day or two.
Cheers

reddory · « **Reply #1 on:** February 18, 2019, 03:13:53 pm »

Well, at least you FOUND some kingfish - and that's the first step.

Then you managed to hook one on your bait rig: a good second step. The DO go like the clappers, don't they?

I'm nothing like expert, but next time you try for them on lures, you might try speeding up your retrieve to the point where it seems ridiculous (ie, big rips, with the lure leaping and splashing through the surface) - it worked for me off the Southport jetty a couple of weeks ago!

Certainly, on several occasions where I've found a heap of them feeding, I've had so many instances of them following the lure with some interest, only to turn away at the last, as you described. I'm convinced that was because they could examine the thing, and recognised it as bogus. I think the trick is to whip it past their noses so fast they don't have a chance to inspect it; they just snap at it in reflex.

rogun · « **Reply #2 on:** February 18, 2019, 05:36:53 pm »

I think that you could be right about that,
I recall crossing paths last year with them showing the same lack of interest and turning away at the last minute at the boat,
amongst the moored boats opposite the Lewisham pub.
Enough to drive a man to drink, lol
I will definitely go back at them as soon as this wind settles.
I have been thinking about slow trolling Chasebait Squid on a down rig dropper to see if the depth helps them take more readily.
Does anyone have any experience with these snappy looking soft plastics?
Does anyone have any further advice to share with their uses?
It would be great to take advice from those with the knowledge.
Cheers

Rohan · « **Reply #3 on:** February 18, 2019, 09:01:47 pm »

Quote from: rogun on February 18, 2019, 05:36:53 pm

I think that you could be right about that,
I recall crossing paths last year with them showing the same lack of interest and turning away at the last minute at the boat,
amongst the moored boats opposite the Lewisham pub.
Enough to drive a man to drink, lol
I will definitely go back at them as soon as this wind settles.
I have been thinking about slow trolling Chasebait Squid on a down rig dropper to see if the depth helps them take more readily.
Does anyone have any experience with these snappy looking soft plastics?
Does anyone have any further advice to share with their uses?
It would be great to take advice from those with the knowledge.
Cheers

Big white Slugo type plastics with not much action and crank them fast . My favourite bait is a whole fresh squid head fished mid water unweighted. The smaller Kings will often not take a whole squid properly but will take a head tentacles and all . They can be funny some days they won't look at anything other days they will take nearly anything. Lures I've had success with are the halco max 130 in King brown or pilchard colour which are a trolling lure but also cast very well

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rogun · « **Reply #4 on:** February 19, 2019, 12:23:36 pm »

Hi Rohan,
Thanks for the information, I have tried doing most of what you suggested including the slugos retrieved very fast,
Looks a lot like they need to be in the mood for a feed at the time.
I trolled Halco divers, 2 King Browns + one in Green and one in blue from the Tassie bridge to Tranmere point and back, four lures without a touch, not even a Salmon. Does 6 knots sound about right for them?
I may have to try and catch a couple of squid and try the whole head as baits next time as you suggested.

reddory · « **Reply #5 on:** February 19, 2019, 12:57:40 pm »

I've always understood that trolling needs to be really fast. The first one I ever caught was a few years ago, over the storm-water pipe off Rosny Point doing 11 knots in barely 3 metres of water. It took a small jet-head skirt fizzing along just in the surface. Whammo!