OUT OF TOWN FELLOW KINGER NEEDING GUIDENCE!

whats going on gulf state kingers.. my name is will i live on the east coast of North Carolina...born and bred in bayminette alabama and havent fished there in 15 years since i was 10! learned kinging on eastern NC piers along with surf fishing big red drum... i want to take advantage and learn (and maybe cacth a fish or two) the ways of light lining fior kings....we use 2 rod trolly rigs along the coast up here and im unfamiliar with those tactics....ive got a trip planned to visit family on june 22-24 and one of the days im gonna spend on the pier with some of you fellas hopefully and try and put my little brothers on some fish...thats my main reason i wanna get them hooked up on a king....PEACHES introduced me to yalls dorum through another facebook group....info i need is..

1. end of june what can i expect biting wise....i have lots of tackle thats travellinbg with me i just need know how and what to pack....

2.rod and reel set up... i know spinning tackle is preferred ... what length/action rod is preferred...i have reel covered..

3. leader and hook set up for live and dead baits... type/size hooks

these are the basics i need info on so i can have my gear setup to bring down with me

any ifo would greatly be appreciated and im really lookin forward to this venture!

will

The best thing to do is to come down and spend a couple hours just watching, Then go back an get your tackle. Thats most likely the best advice your going to get. 8ft rod 7stran leader 30#

Well its kinda hard to just run up to nc an exchange tackle lol im flying so i have to pack for that gonna have bout 4 dif setups plus tackle box

Will, I'm sure some of the locals will chime in, you can't go wrong following Peaches' advise that's for sure. But as a fellow traveler who has to pack ahead.....

Some 30# stranded wire leader or something like it. I'd bring some lighter like 20# if it was me because sometimes the water is clear. It wouldn't hurt to throw a roll of 40 or 60 pound floro leader in, you might decide to fish for spanish. Some 2,4, and 6 treble hooks of course, 4X strong. If you are flying I hope you have two piece rods. I use a 7' MH rod and an 8' and 9' ML rod, depending on how big a bait I'm throwing. I really like the 7 footer for throwing cigar minnows. They all whip fish if I do my part. 15 or 16 pound test line does great.

I have planned a trip for the same time you are planning because it is a new moon/high tide, even though they sometimes go nuts on a neap tide. I expect to catch kings and spanish and jacks and reds and sharks (by accident of course and always released mainly unharmed).

Others will probably chime in with some better advise. You may need a bait rod unless you plan on fishing cigs....that will save you packing a rod and getting the sabiki rigs.

thanks rick1 thats the kinda advice im needing....im only gonna be able to pack about 4 rods ill bring a couple different ones for kingin then a live bait rod as well and probably gonna bring my drum surf rod as well and try to throw some from the beach as well time pending..... so basically what im reading and seeing is hook a live bait single 4x trebel (some ive heard run trailers) and pretty much throw let it drift and repeat...

Your pretty close NC, we like to snobble down here when using dead bait (IE cigar minnows, sardines, ballyhoo, ect.). Basically you cast it out there a good ways (this takes practice, and a fine touch) and you let it sink some and sort of twitch, and retrieve, sink some maybe twitch it a little, and retrieve trying to make it look like a wounded bait fish. You want to keep the bait in the top 5-8ft of water since that's where the kings like to cruise. Sometimes they do come up to hit it though. You can also fish live bait, you can either freeline it, and follow it, or you can put in a few feet under a float (usually a 3in slotted).

So now that you have an idea of how we fish, its up to you on rod and reels. You can absolutely use a casting reel if that's what you prefer, the main thing here is light line 15-20 preferred, and around 300-350yd capacity of the line of your choosing. Most prefer mono 15 or 16. (which is plenty) For rod if you plan to snobble much you'll want at least a 7ft rod (8-9ft is preferred), with a medium action, for live baiting a medium/medium-heavy is fine.

For more info on leaders, check out the thread in the DIY section. You may also want to bring a lighter rig for throwing smaller jigs/plugs for spanish or for dragging bottom for flounder. (gulf flounder)

If I were to choose four rigs to bring, I would bring:

1 heavy set-up 20-25# for throwing large jigs, big baits, ect.
1 medium set-up 15#dedicated to kings
1 light 10# set-up for jigs,ect, bottom fishing
1 light-med 10# set-up for catching bait.

Hope that helps you out some. Good luck.

Thanks for the good info tofer ... im really looking fwd to this trip and hopefully catch a few fish and learn a new style of fishing

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...ing-live-bait/

thanks for all the help guys keep it coming.... for the vets....end of june what can i expect both night and day time...might try some bottom fishing out as well

Glad to see another OBX-Carolina guy on here! Yea, it is different than trolley rigging, that's an understatement. Might not be able to sit down for a few hours if they are biting. And yes it can be Combat fishing when busy just minus the waves.

Learn how to catch live bait under the pier. If it is around then.. a gold hook rig sabiki type basically on a bass rod or something very light.

I'm using my 8' and 9' 1/2z-3z metal throwing rods with a little larger reel than my stradic 5000's I would use back home just because of line capacity.

Stopped bringing my saltiga/saltist 8&bait down here.

Gotta love combat fishing in dead of winter throwin 8nbait hard as u can go!!! Im pretty well prepared for the trip but im bringing the heaver with me as well ya know us obx boys like a lil friendly challenge when we here folks speak of out casting someone LOL

Back up 50 yards shy of the end and throw about a 100 yards east with a fish finder and hunk of bunker. You will have a Cobia before they ever get a chance to call 1st shot. Just sayin.

I did have a shock leader, FF and circle hook ready on my spare rod last time I was down. Nice yearling Red Blitz came through. Amazing seeing them from the pier in all in that clear water.

Ohhh yea i cant wait....things are dead up here right now nunch of funky weather