Kingfish Stinger Rig

Kingfish Stinger Rig

Currently, conditions off of Florida's east central coastal beaches are prime for targeting heavy duty game fish using a light tackle approach. The water is clean right to the beach and the kingfish and other predators (jumbo jacks, tarpon, and sharks) have pushed pods of pogies (Atlantic menhaden) and other baitfish into shallow water (15 to 40 feet), and slow trolling live baitfish on steel stinger rigs can reward you with fast and furious drag screaming action.

Due to the keen vision and razor sharp teeth of kingfish, it is important to use the shortest length and lightest wire leader as possible and still have a good chance of landing the big fish. Lowering the profile of your terminal rig will greatly improve your chances of a strike, and in some cases, can even making the difference in catching a fish at all. It is also very important when utilizing a light tackle approach to counter their long speedy runs and sharp teeth of a kingfish with a light drag setting on your reel. The combination of a light drag setting and the extreme speed and long run of a kingfish will often smoke the line off of your reel, thus the term smoker kingfish. Most inshore kingfish range in the 20 pound class, but it is not unheard of to tie into a 40 to 60 pound smoker, a 100-pound class tarpon, or a 30 to 40-pound jack carvalle or shark.

With these thoughts in mind, here is how I approach this situation. First, you need a medium heavy rod and reel combination spooled up with at least 200 yards of 20-pound test braided line or 30 to 40-pound monofilament. Next, I like using about 8 to 10 feet of 30-pound fluorocarbon leader, and if big tarpon are a possibility I tip the end with several feet of 50-pound test. Next, I attach my stinger rig which is described below:

I start by attaching a very small swivel (Sea Striker Bill Fisher Krok 70-pound test stainless steel swivel) to 18-inch of #2 or #4 American Fishing Wire stainless steel leader brown in color, using a haywire twist. I like using darker leader colors to keep toothy fish like small Spanish mackerel and kingfish from striking the flashy swivel high, thus reducing cutoffs. The #2 leader is rated for 27-pounds and the # 4 is rated for 38-pounds. Larger kingfish can cut through the lighter leader during extended battles, but the finesse of the light rig is required to gain the strike in the first place. Next, I twist in a VMC #1 Fast Grip Kingfish Live Bait hook. For the stinger I attach a VMC #4X Treble Hook to 4 to 7 inches of #4 American Fishing Wire leader, and then twist in the opposite end through both the loop and the eye of the VMC #1 hook.

Once you have netted live bait and it's in the live well, hook the #1 Live Bait hook through the bait's nose from side to side, and the 4X stinger near the tail. For best results your bait should swim as naturally as possible. When kingfish strikes a bait, they often slice thought the tail to crippling the bait, and then quickly turn around and eat it. With the stinger near the tail, you have a greater chance of a hook up on a short strike. I also like to troll three baits. The first (short bait) directly in the prop wash of your engine, the middle bait about 20 feet back, and than a long bait about 50 feet back. This arrangement helps keep the live baits from swimming into each other, and it prevents tangles during turns. Also, I like to troll my baits at the slowest speed my boat will run to allow the baits to swim rather than skip across the water.

Captain Tom Van Horn
Mosquito Coast Fishing Charters
www.irl-fishing.com
407-416-1187 on the water
407-366-8085 office