Kingfish
About the Fish
Kingfish is the largest fish in the Mackerel family, weighing in at over 100lbs. The world record fish and most line class IGFA records are fish caught in Key West, FL. The Kingfish is also known as the smoker, after being hooked a fish can burn 100 yards of line off a reel in seconds. The fish is considered an average table fare, but very good for smoke fish because of the high oil content of the flesh.
Seasons
The Kingfish can be caught all year around in Key West. The peak of the season ranges from November through the end of March. The majority of the major King Mackerel tournaments are in January. The beginning of the season mostly depends on the first cold fronts of the season, the drop in water temperature will bring the large schools of fish into our waters sooner. The Kingfish can travel in schools of tens of thousands as well as traveling alone.
Where to Catch Them
The Kingfish can be located in any depth of water as well as thriving in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The Kingfish feed on a variety of small fish and can be caught very close to the coast. 30 to 100 ft of water is the best range on the Gulf side and 30 to 250 ft are the best ranges in the Atlantic waters off Key West.
How/ Techniques to Catch Them
Being such an aggressive fish, a jig, lure and live bait are extremely effective methods to catch this fearsome sport fish. In the king mackerel tournaments the majority of the winning fish are taken by slow trolling live blue runners. A large 7/o hook behind the head with a #4 treble stinger hook near the tail will do the trick. Always use at least a 12 to 14 inch peace of wire tied between your monofilament leader and the hook. These fish have a mouth full of extremely sharp teeth, which are exposed at the fast attack of these fish on your bait.
Equipment Used to catch them
Slow trolling with at least a 30lb conventional, or 20 lb spin class tackle works well. You want to have a reel with a large line capacity due to the smoking runs of up to 300 yards these fish can make. Have plenty of steel leader and treble hooks and you will land most of your fish. A 7 ft soft tipped rod works well; you want to have a flexible tip not to pull the hooks out during your fight.
