A Guide To Fishing For Yellowtail Kingfish

Without a doubt the Yellowtail Kingfish is one of the most sought after species in our country and for good reason, they are available along a broad stretch of the coastline. From roughly Hervey Bay in the north, all down the eastern seaboard, through Victoria and into South Australia.

What's more, Kingfish are available in a huge range of locations from deep offshore reefs to rocky ocean headlands, bays and even up into estuaries, and due to their wide range of locations that they can be found, it also means that multiple different fishing techniques are able to be used to target them.

They can be so ravenous that they eat anything thrown at them, then at other times be so frustrating, as they happily swim up to your boat or location but refuse to eat anything you throw at them.

Add to this that Kingfish are often in big schools, look amazing, eat well, and fight like nothing else as they do their absolute best to break you off on the bottom, or any other available piece of structure.

Tides, Moon And Time Of Day

As with a lot of fish species, a tide change is always good to get fish feeding, and generally the hour or so on either side of a tide change will get the Kings fired up, you may also find that depending on where you are they will only feed on one side of the tide - take note of when you get the bites and it will put you in the right area for the next tide or your next trip.

When it comes to the moon phases - a building moon is always good, but other things to take note of are when you get a moon rise or set as these are also key times, and this can happen in the middle of the day.

Another key time for Kings is definitely dawn and dusk, especially in shallower water where oftentimes the bigger fish will become more active, and also sit higher in the water column as they hunt for food.

Current or tide flow

If there is one thing Kingfish love, it is water movement, so offshore currents or decent tidal flow will usually get the Kings to chew.

When you find an area that the tide or current is pushing into then look at the areas where the flow pushes into the structure the hardest as the Kings love to hold on the front edge of where the current pushes into the structure, this is simply because with there powerful tails they can easily swim in the flowing water, something that smaller food items can't do as well, so it makes it very easy for them to chase food down and eat it.

Food Source

When it comes to food types Kingfish will eat all sorts of fish species such as Yakka's, Slimy Mackerel, Garfish and Sauries, but they also really love squid such as Calamari and Arrow squid, and in many cases, the key to regular success on Kings, is to get good at catching live bait.

And while a smaller bait or lure will catch you plenty of fish and oftentimes good ones, if you're after that bigger fish then a larger bait or lure will often be quickly found by a better fish.

If you're after a bigger Kingfish then work on the theory - the bigger the bait, the bigger the King.

Locations

Offshore Reefs

Offshore reef systems are something that Kingfish absolutely love as they will often hold on these in big numbers waiting for baitfish and squid to come too close to them, in these areas water depth doesn't matter too much to the Kings as anything from a few meters deep to well over a hundred can and will hold Kings.

On deeper reefs Jigging with metal jigs is a great way to fish as it fires the fish up as the jig is worked back fast from the bottom, the fish hit hard.

Ocean headlands and Islands

Kingfish love to cruise along the coastline hunting the rocky headlands in search of food and areas such as headlands that have deep water and currents pushing past them are ideal places to fish.

Offshore islands are usually the ultimate place to find Kingfish as they provide everything they could want with deep water, current and the ability for the fish to always move around the island to be in the prime area where the current is pushing the food to them.

Bays And Estuaries

As mentioned earlier Kingfish don't care how deep the water is, but what they do love is warm water and food, so it makes sense that they will at times push into these areas to feed on the abundant bait and just hang out in the warm water - it's not just small fish that do this either, with the biggest Kingfish in the country travelling from the deep ocean waters into the Shallows of Spencer Gulf in South Australia every year.

Turn To Anaconda For All Of Your Yellowtail Kingfishing Needs

Catching the highly sought after Yellowtail Kingfish couldn't be more simple now you have the inside scoop. Before you head out though, make sure you have all the right fishing gear by exploring our quality range of fishing rods, fishing line, bait, fishing reels and more at Anaconda. If you liked our guide to fishing for Yellowtail Kingfish, then you'll love our other fishing articles and helpful tips on our Adventure Centre such as:

• Top 10 Lures For Catching Trout
• Everything You Need To Know About Estuary Fishing With Hard-Body Lures
• Murray Cod Tips & Tricks
• The 'One Percenters' Of Successful Fishing: Best Fishing Tips & Techniques

Find your local Anaconda store and check out our extensive fishing range for your next outdoor adventure