Contributing Writer Capt. Joe Greco
Ft. Myers Sport Fishing
While we hear a lot about the “Silver Kings” that begin arriving in our area in April each year, most of us are thinking about our world class tarpon fishery. While there is absolutely no doubt that these dinosaurs are at the top of just about every inshore fishing enthusiasts list in April, there is another silver king that excites the heck out of us and many of our fishing clients each spring. The other king that I am referring to is the magnificent King Mackerel.
We have a Kingfish run in our area in the late fall, when countless numbers of mature kingfish migrate down from our north heading to warmer waters for the winter months. Each March and April the reverse is true as big number pass through our waters heading north in search of bait and a bit cooler summer water temps. Just like the thousands of tarpon that show up every spring, Kingfish pass through the same areas almost every single year. The odds of hooking up with a smoker-king increases exponentially if you can time the migration right and intercept them while they are here.
One of our favorite ways to hook into these awesome fish is trolling for them with a combination of surface presentations and presentations off our Scotty downriggers. While, historically, downrigger fishing hasn’t been extremely popular on the west coast of Florida in years past, in recent years more anglers are gettin into it. If you are serious about trolling for Kingfish - along with other species such as blackfin tuna and cobia- adding a down rigger or two to your arsenal will DEFINITELY put more fish in your boat.
I have been using Scotty downriggers for decades in the northeast targeting salmon and lake trout and I have used them extensively in Florida when we target King Mackerel. I was on a Southern Kingfish Association ( SKA) team for years and I can tell you that you will not see a SINGLE BOAT that is competing in Kingfish tournaments that doesn’t have downriggers on their gunnels. Scotty makes a quick release gimbal mount base that makes it a snap to add and remove a downrigger on any boat with flush mount rod holders.
We pull a variety of presentations in our 5-line trolling spread, including live baits -such as blue runners-, dead baits such as ballyhoo, a variety of large spoons, as well as stick baits such as Yozuri Crystal Minnows.
We run two flatlines off each gunnel, two lines off our downriggers and a fifth line down the chute. Our downrigger lines are set mid-water column and 5-10 ft off bottom. With a trolling spread such as this we are covering the entire water column. Utilizing this spread, if there are Kings in the area, odds are very good that you’re going to hook up!
Some guys run BIG LIP divers and while these lures can be effective, I am not a huge fan as I don’t like all of the drag associated with these lures. With a downrigger you can run lighter lines along with baits that have very little drag. Lighter lines equate to more kings in the boat. Like most SKA tournament fishermen, we troll monofilament line in the 20-25lb class. There is very little drag on this light line when hooked up and trolling reels with SILKY smooth drags are a must.
If you are new to the downrigger game you can jump on YouTube and there are countless videos on the subject that will help you get dialed in. If you ever have any questions for me regarding downrigger fishing, feel free to give me a call or send me an e-mail and I will be happy to point you in the right direction.
Capt. Joe Greco
