i found out im going to be here until at least june so i put king mackerel on my hit list on folly pier. i have a heavy rod and a reel with about 400 yards of 65lb cajun braid on it, one of the wire sinkers that sticks into the bottom, and a rig to hold the line near the surface, but what baitfish work best for kings? i can get ahold of big mullet and or pinfish on base and im sure i could grab a couple small bluefish on the pier as well.
as for rigs i keep seeing wire leaders with 2 treble hooks in tackle shops intended for kings…should i use those or go with a big circle hook on a steel leader instead?
along with kings what else comes along for the ride when people try for them? i saw someone get a big tarpon, hear of spanish mackerel coming by, and of course hear tons of people complain about big sharks too. any help is appreciated.
We always used a live blue fish. 12-16". A spot or a big pinfish was next best bait. You want something flashy.
Big single -J 7/0 hook in dorsal - smaller 5/0 - J closer to tail - and a 2-4/0 treble dangling in middle to stop the belly bite. Wire leader for sure. I used 10’ -108# single strand.
You can cast straw rigs & gotcha’s or float a minnow for spanish. Keep a 2 hook bottom rig going for what ever. Or a minnow on a fish finder near the pilings for flounder or red.
Sharks or chopper blues may/can bust your bait. Makes sure you’re awake. In NC or Fla you might get a tarpon or cobia. Pretty rare in SC.
sounds good and thanks. pinfish are more than plentiful on base so a few of those on my ice rod and baitfish rig will not be hard to get ahold of. i only mentioned tarpon since i saw someone catch one about 6 feet long when i was on the pier one night, but didnt think they were too common either. really i wont mind whatever hits my line…i just like trying new ways of fishing and never tried the king mackerel setup before…but of course i would like to cross kings off my list as well just out of curiosity how do they fight when hooked? ive gotten several king salmon before that rip out 100 yards of line in a single run then spend 20+ minutes bringing them back in…that about right? from the way people talk about them thats the closest thing i can imagine them fighting like.
More times than not around here, kings are 25# or less from the pier. One good smokin run about 150-200 yrds and bring 'um back. 1st time he sees the pier maybe a shorter run. Got to have a pier gaff or hoop net to get them up on deck. I’ve seen level winds bring in a bunch of them. As long as you have at least 350 yds of line you will get most to the pier. I have caught them on a Penn309 with 350yds of 30# mono.
I have seen a few that would have hurt my feeling with that setup too. I saw a mid 30# king that was foul hooked in the pec fin really give a guy some grief. Must have run 6-7 times. I also saw one 48#'er that made 4 runs on a 6/0 Senator w/50# line and nearly spooled him on the first run. It was real close. It was back in 70’s when Stren first came out with the hi-vis yellow line. 1st time I had ever seen it. The end of that first run you could not see where the line entered the water.
sounds fun! my gear will be different than most peoples seeing as i only use spinning gear (just my own personal opinion but i cant stand baitcasters), but 400 yards of 65lb braid and my 10 foot ugly stick survived a 5 foot blacktip and 26lb red so i dont see why a 30lb king would break it to pieces. dont have a pier gaff but im sure someone will grab a hoop net for me should i get a hookup. one more thing im wondering does it seem to matter what tide or what time of day you fish at all?
A big spinner with a good drag will get it done. SC rules on pier king fishin is no baits in the water until sunrise. Stop at sunset. I usually get there 1 hr or so early and get my anchor/trolly line set. Get my fighting rod and clip hooked up and ready. Then pray you catch a blue or two before sunup. Kept a live bucket over the side for bait if pier didn’t have bait tank. Get to know the local regular king crowd. Offer a bait if you have a few to someone who doesn’t. Payback is sweet on a day when everyone has a bait but you. Tide no matter -just fish all day. Days with east wind and clearer water are the best. If the blue green water comes in close to end of pier the bite is usually hot. 10-2-4 is Dr Pepper times the old timers said - never know - IMHO i think more in mornings and mid-day than late afternoon.
bout all i gotta do is wait now. just out of curiosity what does bite is “hot” mean…2 or 3 fish for the whole group or everyone get a hookup? of course fishing is fishing but do you usually at least get hit by something when you try for kings all day in good conditions?
Hot - I would say 2-3 landed for the whole group. That’s the most I’ve ever seen in a day off the pier. I most always fished Springmaid. I hear Folly is better. Been a while ago. There is usually some baits bit off and a couple strikes and misses. Maybe one pulls the hook or one gets lost in the piling. Now there was also some big sharks hooked, a few chopper blues now and then, and a few big spanish. When all the baits starts dancin trying to get out the water - there’s a toothy critter near by! Sit waitin for a drag to start screaming and run to see whos rod it was.
The best king fishing to me was always mid-May right about when we had exams at school. Water was clear - huge schools of bait moving down the coast off and on all day. Big fish busting the bait schools. Schools of blues and spanish. Good fishing.
You could stay pumped and busy fishing and the time flew by. I wish I lived closer to the coast - 2.5-3 hrs away now.
thaks sharky ill let ya know. as warm as its been when should they be moving in…perhaps mid to late april or so? thought i kept hearing may so if its warmer than usual maybe mid to late april would work?
Ohio! If you are military go over or call Charleston AFB, MWR Outdoor Rec. They have boats and trailors for rent. You have to take a boaters safety class and then the heck with pier fishing.
just out of curiosity how do they fight when hooked? ive gotten several king salmon before that rip out 100 yards of line in a single run then spend 20+ minutes bringing them back in…that about right? from the way people talk about them thats the closest thing i can imagine them fighting like.
Water was clear - huge schools of bait moving down the coast off and on all day. Big fish busting the bait schools. Schools of blues and spanish. Good fishing.