Ft. Myers Fishing Adventures
Capt. Joe Greco
Most who follow us on social media know that of all the species that we chase off the coast of Ft Myers Beach, putting our clients on some smoker kingfish is one of our favorite things to do.
Two distinct groups of kingfish have been identified around the coast of Florida. One group predominantly migrates annually up and down the east coast, wintering off the Carolina coast. The other group migrates up and down the west coast each year, traveling north to Texas during the summer months and back south in the fall.
Consequently, some of our largest kings are ripped over the rail each year in March/April when they are heading north ,as well as in the fall and early winter when they are heading south.
You don’t generally hear a lot about the migration in our area as the majority of offshore fishing enthusiasts target our phenomenal bottom fishery. We have some of the best grouper and snapper fishing found anywhere so, consequently, our world class pelagic fishery takes a back seat at times.
While some make an attempt at targeting kingfish while bottom fishing, often times there is a key ingredient or two missing in their approach.
I have had many guys approach me in years past asking me how we catch these big kings and I am always happy to try to help them out. A few of the biggest mistakes I hear about center around where they fish and how they set up for them.
Many simply use too heavy of a tackle set up, thinking “ big fish-big tackle’. I learned a ton about kings when I was fishing on a Southern Kingfish Association Team in years past, including the fact that that you don’t need heavy tackle set-ups when targeting kings. Twenty to thirty pound monofilament with fluorocarbon leaders aren the way to go and upon hook up “ let em go”.
These big fish make one or two BIG runs and generally become fairly easy to land after a long post run burnout. Loose drags and light lines are key to higher success rates with kingfish.
We focus our efforts at these two magical times of year on reefs, wrecks , ledges and hard bottom numbers , as this is what these magnificent fish look for. They absolutely love chasing big schools of blue runners up and down the coast, making this type a bait a perennial favorite. You would be surprised at how big of a blue runner these fish will hit.
We always deploy a blue runner/ balloon rig if we hook into blue runners while bottom fishing , as some of our biggest kingfish of the years fall victim to this technique.
Last December we had a free lined runner out for kingfish and hooked into a 30lb class Cobia, so you never know what will hit a lively runner on any given day.
Lastly, patience is the key to boating these fish. Keep a tight line at all times, as they have hard mouths and will come unbuttoned if there is any slack in the line. If they remain hooked up after the initial LONG run, odds are very good that you will be ripping that trophy king over the rail if you keep it tight and remain patient. They frequently circle upon hook up and this is a tell tale sign that you have a big king on.
As they get closer to the boat they usually do smaller circles near the boat, right up until you put the gaff on them. Try not to get too hasty with the gaff as if they are still green and you pull a “reach and touch” maneuver, they may make another explosive run.
I am a huge fan of a shorter 6-ft gaff as when I can reach them with this gaff they are all done the vast majority of the time.
Tight lines!
Capt. Joe Greco
