NOW IS THE TIME! For a one metre Sydney kingfish

My tired old ticker started thumping like a trip hammer when I spotted this pic on Facebook last week:

Why? Because it’s November, and that’s a Queensland kingfish. November and December is the time of year that big kingfish travel south, close in along the NSW coast. They lose a lot of condition on the way and end up looking like the one above – skinny in the middle, and with a big head. Here’s a 114cm we downrigged off South Head a few years ago, looks just like the one on the fish mat:

If you live anywhere between Newcastle and Wollongong and you haven’t caught a one metre kingfish yet, now is the time to do it. And the way to do it is by downrigging. It’s deadly. Here’s gun fisho Don Cummings with a Coffs Harbour cracker:

And here’s Josh Davey with a beast he returned. Note our downrigger in the rod holder:

What is downrigging? If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a way of controlling the depth of your bait or lure. When the fish strikes a release clip opens and you’re tied directly to the fish. It’s becoming more deadly every year, as marine electronics like Side Scan show you exactly what depth the kings (or mackerel, or bass) are holding:

I was introduced to downrigging years ago, fishing in Lake Michigan for salmon:

We would head out onto the Lake, check the sounders, and set the lure depth right on the thermocline where the oxygen levels and temperature were best for the fish we were chasing:

Couldn’t believe how effective the technique was, and started Downrigger Shop soon after I got back to Australia. But I wasn’t happy with the Scottys and Cannons on offer back home. Main reason, the spool locked when you set your depth. Being US designed that made sense, because when fishing in Lake Michigan and similar glacial lakes there’s nothing to hook your weight onto. That’s not the situation here in Oz! Downunder, kings and mackerel hold over structure – bommies, and reefs. Snaggy structure. And losing your downrigger weight is annoying! So we put carbontex washers and a drag system in our model. You control spool tension with the powerful drag:

That way, if your weight hooks up on the bottom, you grab the rod and give it a quick jerk to release your line. Then, reverse the boat back over the snagged weight and wind the downrigger handle. Most times it will come up. One other mod was that our model goes straight into your rod holder so, no drilling of the gunwale needed. Downriggers are great bits of gear! But you’re not always using them. And you don’t need something hanging off the transom when you’re on the bait grounds, or coming into the pontoon at the boat ramp:

Last but not least, we changed the American system of braided wire to 200 pound colour change braid. Reason being, the braided wire used on American downriggers can hum like Keith Richards’ guitar string, especially if you’ve got an aluminium boat:

Now’s the time lads. If you haven’t got a downrigger, get one and get into the action. Here’s one caught off my boat at North Head:

And it’s not all about kingfish. Here’s Renee, mixing it up:

For the full story please click the link:

DOWNRIGGERS

One last thing to mention? If you’ve got one of ours, and you’re starting out, give me a call – if you want to. Happy to pass on details about:

‘Why don’t you just put all that in this report, Andy?’ I hear you ask. There’s a good reason. Our Facebook page:

Downrigger Shop

hit 90,000 likes and followers this week and I share a lot of good intel there. Maybe too much, according to some local charter operators:

Clients will always come first - but I'm hoping to cut down on the hassles that sometimes result 😊 Thanks for reading
Andrew Hestelow

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