I can remember my younger years of fishing and the sound of a reel when a big King Mackerel crashed one of the live baits in our spread. That sound would wake you from a lazy daydream or a deep sleep and you were wide awake with adrenaline flowing as soon as the reel went off. The great thing about this type of fishing was that I could go and do it at a young age and if I was not feeling well or ready to come back in, the ride was a short one. King Mackerel fishing offers a big fish thrill without the 45 mile ride for kids and can be a great way to introduce them to the ocean and offshore trolling techniques. I learned quite a bit about how to fight a fish, gaffing a fish and handling a large fish with plenty of sharp teeth once you get them in the boat. I also was able to see some pretty awesome displays of speed, power and aerial acrobatics by some of the kings we caught over the years.
June is an excellent month for king fishing from the end of the jetties out to 90 of water. Live menhaden and mullet make for some exciting and readily available baits. Kings will also hit a variety of other fish like blue runners, pinfish and bluefish to name a few. The range of artificial baits they will hit is also pretty wide. Big Rapalas, King Getters and several other types will work well. Check with your local tackle shop and they can recommend a few that should do the trick. Finding areas with well defined structure like the jetties, or areas of live bottom will normally hold fish. We always liked to fish areas of live bottom with a ledge or some type of sharp relief on the bottom. Slow trolling or anchoring over these areas (when fishing live bait) works very well. If you decide to anchor, you may want to bottom fish while your baits do their thing off the back of the boat. The more action you can create, in the area you are fishing, is a good thing.
Most kids once they catch their first king are ready to do it again. We all have tricks for keeping kids entertained while things are slow and this type of fis