Auckland Kingfish

[Mike Thomas]

Hi Guys, I went out last evening in a mates boat, we took fly rods only and hit all the marker bouys in the Rangitoto chanel looking for Kingfish.
I had a bad start, loosing a shooting head to one of the markers, but I had a spare so put that on.
We well and truly popped my Kingfish on fly cherry, I can't tell you how good these fish are. They are only small ones, but man can they pull! We both landed a few and lost a few, I got smashed by a fish that made it back to the bouy chain, I just could not stop it with a #9 Xi3 and it was no bigger than 70cm (28 inches)! Nick worked hard to set up the drifts and very generously gave me the first shot on the markers, at one point he said to me "you are about to get hit", and I hooked up before the word "hit" was out of his mouth!
Anyway we had a blast and I will post some pics later.
All the best.
Mike

[Jax]

Hi Mike; Congrats on your Kingfish on a fly. I am yet to got one to play with me. Looking forward to seeing the Pics. Most folks have no idea how strong a Kingfish can be on a fly rod and boy do they sort out any weaknesses in your tackle. GREEN with Envy. Jax

[tailingloop]

Fantastic! On our side of the ocean we call them Yellowtail and they are perhaps the most prized gamefish on the southern California coast. I have got a few over the years on fly tackle but fly rod shots here are fairly infrequent with most coming on live bait or jigs fished near the bottom. A great sport fish and great table fare too. Hamachi anyone?

One of my dreams it to get back to New Zealand and target Kingfish while I am there.

[Mike Thomas]

Thanks Jax, hope you get some soon, Tauranga is a hotspot!
Tailingloop they have a few names down here, I think the full name is Yellowtail Kingfish, but mostly we call them kingi's, I have caught many of the bigger ones on live bait and jigs in deep water. The smaller "Rat" kings tend to spend summer in this area hanging around the chanel markers so they can be targeted on fly, but you have to hang on once hooked up or they are straight back to the mark to bust you off!
Here are a couple of pics.
Me looking chuffed with my first ever on fly

A better one.

and this is were we fished.

All the best.
Mike

[Jax]

NICE very NICE!! That is one sweet Kingfish Mike. I am still living in hope. Fishing the Flats with great enthusiasm. Keep on having fun. jax

[Thunderthumbs]

Nice fish, Mike. Here is a picture of my first one on the fly, what a fight! We were fishing kelp paddies in the blue water 80 miles out from the Mexican coast.

texas trip 061.jpg

TT.

[Mike Thomas]

Nice fish, Mike. Here is a picture of my first one on the fly, what a fight! We were fishing kelp paddies in the blue water 80 miles out from the Mexican coast.

Attachment 9820

TT.

Nice Fish TT, that is a lovely one on a fly rod, looks like the same fly I was using!
All the best.
Mike

[Thunderthumbs]

Thanks,
I have the picture framed with a few other from that trip. I have what's left of the actual fly (same one as in the picture) stuck into the frame of the picture. I love living that one over and over.

TT.

[JeffHamm]

Great stuff Mike! I've been so swamped with work and family things (and friends' weddings, etc) that I've had no chance to get out at all. Great to see you're having lots of fun with the salt.

- Jeff

[Jax]

Donkey.jpg

Me Searching for a Playful Kingi. Jax