June 02, 2020
Offshore on Saturday morning with a super keen young crew: Oscar, Myles and Xavier. These guys eat drink and breathe fishing, and their enthusiasm is contagious. First stop Long Reef where we had heard from a contact the kingfish were firing:

They were! But nothing big, or even legal. And the bite died away fast. The good news was there was a mild current running from the north bringing fresh clean green water onto the reef. A lot of the problems we have had finding kings recently has been due to suspended sediment in the water. They hate that. Putting the various factors together being:
Perfect water conditions, and water temperature;
Kings on the close grounds, but not big ones;
I thought a run out to some deeper marks might be worthwhile. It was! We were all using 100 gram jigs and matched light 10-20 pound jig outfits. First drop an amberjack, for Oscar:

A just undersize kingfish, for Myles:

And a keeper king for Xavier:

Our 100 gram jigs so deadly, on Saturday. Crazy effective on shallow reefs like the Peak and the Banks. And just as good on deeper reefs like Twelve Mile and Texas, if the current lets them get deep. On Saturday they were what every king wanted:

Check them out:
Bloodshot eye
Strong matched hook and cord
HD split ring
Lumo belly
Assorted colours
And best of all
Just $75 for ten – including delivery to your door:

Here’s a compilation video:

On the way back to Sydney, an unexpected event. Flotsam of all kinds floating around from the containers that were lost overboard, last week. Stacks of face masks – which weren’t needed – but I did salvage some bait containers:

Last but not least, impressed with the way our large catch was converted into some beautiful dishes. Sushi:

And ceviche kingfish tostadas:

What a great day. Lots of action, and lots of laughs. No big fish taken but constant multiple hook ups. Hoping to do it all again next weekend! Thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow
August 03, 2026
Two Sydney offshore sessions targeting kingfish with live yellowtail and heavy knife jigs, including fish to one metre, sharks and an amberjack.
April 07, 2026
TUESDAY! Wanted to downrig small live bonito around Long Reef for a stud kingfish. Our purple trolling lures accepted the challenge:
February 06, 2026
Regular readers of this little newsletter know of my fascination for cobia:
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