Jigging for Kingfish

[James80]

I would like to try jigging for kings. Yesterday we went trolling and had absolutly no luck. The boats that were fishing live bait, all twenty of them anchored half a mile form the beach, did well but apparently no one trolling did.

So I was thinking about jigging. I have a Penn 650SSM on a 15-30lb Slammer rod loaded with 20lb mono.

Couple of questions

Can my present setup work?

Should I switch to braid and if so what size?

What size jigs should I be looking for?

Should I use wire to avoid bite offs?

Any other tips or advise would also be appriciated.

[jig42na]

Can my present setup work?
Yes doesn't need to be the best to jig.

Should I switch to braid and if so what size?
Braid is very nice for jigging, especially for kings as they like to hit the jig opn the fall. It can be hard to feel on braid let alone mono.

What size jigs should I be looking for?
Caught them on small as 4oz diamond to as big as a 14" Nagamasa. I like using longer knife type jigs (benthose) in say 8-10oz.

Should I use wire to avoid bite offs?
Never had a hudge problem. I generally fish 150lb mono leaders where kings live. I sometimes use a wire assist hook instead of kevlar. To me me its not worth switching to wire leaders.

Any other tips or advise would also be appriciated.
You can actually troll and jig at the same time once in a while too. As your trolling keep your rod and jig ready and when you are picking up marks cast your jig towards the bow favoring the port or starboard and let it fall. After it reaches the depth of marks start jiggin and just keep it clear of trolling stuff. It s a great way for finding fish.

[James80]

Jig thanks for the info.

If I switch to braid should I stay with 20lb or go heavier?

[mythosbeer]

I would go with at least 50lb braid for kings. I have all mine loaded with 80lb braid. Your setup will work fine though. I have a 750ssm I have used for AJ's up to about 50 or so pounds and it worked great. If you change one thing...load that puppy up with 65lb or 80lb braid. You will definitely have better success with it. I have had some luck catching kings on 100g or 3.5 ounce williamson benthos jigs. Try the silver and black colored benthos. I didn't have any bite through the hook, but you could use a steel assist hook and not have to worry about it.
Mitch

[James80]

If I do go to braid, say 50lb, what should my drag setting be? Remember the rod is only rated 15-30.

[Nauti Natured]

If I do go to braid, say 50lb, what should my drag setting be? Remember the rod is only rated 15-30.

Yikes!!!

That ought to be interesting when you mistakenly hook up on a 50 lb Amberjack!

[cravertosu]

I caught my biggest kings jigging. That's not saying a whole lot since they were 28 and 32 lbs. Both were on Williamson Abyss jigs with 65lb braid. The one below I caught after we lost about 5 jigs in five minutes. I put on a wire leader and used wire to attach the hook. Got him on the first drop. Think that's a 7oz in the picture.

Fun stuff! I think kings are some of the hardest hitting fish to jig! They seem to slam the jig at about mach 7.

[mythosbeer]

If I do go to braid, say 50lb, what should my drag setting be? Remember the rod is only rated 15-30.

I'd stick with about 25%-30% of your line strength...so say 12-15lbs of drag. I don't think you will have a problem with the drag for kings because they aren't ones that normally pull you into the structure when hooked. If you keep getting cut off on the drop, I'd think about using a short wire leader.

Mitch

[markc]

better bring a lot of jigs with you

[gsrsol84mm]

cravertosu,
Is that a Fin-nor offshore rod and reel you have in the pic ? How do you like it ? Thanks