Great Bait: The Thing For Kings "Combine aggressive feeding and high-speed fighting ability with seasonal abundance and high food value and you have the prototype for an angler's dream fish." By David Brown Meet Scomberomonis cavalla - the king mackerel. A migratory fish preferring water in the 68 to 73 degree range, kingfish pass through the central Gulf coast from April through May on their way to cooler Panhandle haunts. The fish return from Mid-October through early December as brisk fall weather pushes their comfort zone further south. Eventually, the kings spend their winters in the Florida Bay area. Charterboat skippers seeking only to bend a rod and anglers fishing for an evening meal usually troll large plugs like Magnum Rapalas, MirrOlures and Rebel Jawbreakers or spoons dressed with green, red or blue reflective tape. By mixing the spread with diving lures and others run deep on planers, the artificial attack is almost a sure bet when the juvenile "schoolies" congregate over reefs and wrecks. Large "smoker" kings of 30 or more pounds are harder to fool. Best bet for the big boys is live bait slow trolling. Natural presentation is the key element and minimal boat speed is crucial. Troll the baits at about a half knot, so they can swim side-to-side. If you're dragging the baits in a straight line, you're going too fast. Dragging a sea anchor or 5-gallon buckets will help minimize your speed. The most common bait along Florida's Gulf Coast is the threadfin herring, so named for its distinctive dorsal trailer. Known locally as a horse minnow or greenback, this baitfish has a dull white belly with iridescent sides blending into an olive green back. A threadfin also has a row of dark spots along its back and a larger spot above the gill covers. A close cousin to the threadfin is the scaled sardine, also called pilchards and white bait. A plump and meaty baitfish, pilchards are to kingfish what M&M's are to a 6 year-old. A deeper profile, fewer spots, no dorsal trailer and larger eyes distinguish pilchards from greenbacks.A bait that often takes an undeserved back seat to the aforementioned two, is the menhaden. Known also as shad, or pogies, the steep-bodied menhaden are among the oiliest fish in the Gulf, and, hence, highly effective on scent-conscious pelagics such as kingfish. With a large head, yellow fins, brassy sides and a bluish-green back, menhaden bear a distinctive dark spot on each shoulder above the gill covers. Although some prefer trebles on both ends of the bait to maximize their grabbing power, many opt for a single 1/0 or 2/0 lead hook. The advantages are less stress to the bait, lower visibility and less snagging on seaweed. A pair of hardy baits often found together near reefs and channel markers are Spanish sardines and round scad, also known as cigar minnows. Actually, both slender baitfish resemble a cigar, but the scad bears the truest form. Both have bluish-green sides and darker backs. But the sardine has a single dorsal fin, whereas the scad sports a pair of deeply-notched dorsals as well as two free-standing spines ahead of the anal fin. Furthermore, the scad's caudal peduncle is far more narrow than the sardines' and its arching lateral line is bordered with small dark spots on the front half. Probably the sturdiest of preferred king baits is the blue runner. Known regionally as hard tails, runners often mix with cigar minnows and sardines on markers and reefs and around channel markers. A member of the jack family, the blue runner ranges from eight to 12 inches along central and Southern Florida coast to nearly two feet in the northern Gulf. Anglers typically find submerged bait concentrations via bottom recorders. But on a slow idle past a bridge piling or channel marker, subsurface bait pods are often visible in the shadows. If the baits are schooling on top, the tell-tale "showering" effect caused by flipping and splashing is a dead giveaway. Also watch for diving birds, which indicate distant pods and usually predators below. For bait catching, a variety of castnets keeps you flexible for any situation. An 8- to 10-foot, 1 1/4-inch stretched mesh net, anchored by 13 pounds of lead gets most of the work because it sinks fast in deep water and stiff currents, trapping baits before they can swim out from under the net. When the baits are small, a 3/4-inch net gets the call to avoid gilling the catch. And for those in-between times, there's a 1 -inch net just in case. Production-level nets go for as little as $40. But if you're serious about this game, spend a little more and get a custom made net. They'll open more fully, sink faster and last longer. The castnet alternative is jigging with gold hook rigs called Sabikis - a string of 6-8 tiny hooks anchored at the end by an ounce or two of lead. Dressed with colored beads and quills, the tiny hooks resemble the plankton baitfish eat. When the baits snap at the hooks, they become ensnared and the angler simply reels them to the surface and puts them in the livewell. The advantage of Sabikis is quicker deployment in tight situations and healthier baits (castnets tend to damage several baits in each catch.). The disadvantage is they grab anything they touch, including hats, shirts and ears. Minimize this hazard with a 3-foot section of clear plastic, sewn into a tube with an inch and a half diameter. Slide the tube over the rod tip and down around the gold hooks. Live baits are best slow-trolled on a specialized rig known as a "stinger." A lead hook trails four to six inches of leader wire, to which a treble hook is attached. With the lead hook planted in the bait's snout, the secondary hook rides along the aft portion. Kings are notorious for snipping baits in half and missing a single nose hook. The stinger eliminates these "short trikes" by putting a hook at both ends of the bait. Although some prefer trebles on both ends to maximize their grabbing power, many opt for a single 1/0 or 2/0 lead hook. The advantages are less stress to the bait, lower visibility and less snagging on seaweed. An essential element complementing the live-bait presentation is chumming. In a nutshell, this operation puts feeding stimulants in the water to crank up the bite and to lead feeding fish to your baits. "Ultimately, gaffing comes down to common sense and discipline. Stay cool, wait for the shot and you'll make your point." Most common is a frozen chum block, made of fish oils and ground fish parts, hung over the side of the boat in a mesh bag. The block melts in the waves, releasing a scent trail, seasoned with edible chum bits. Anglers often augment chum blocks with straight menhaden oil dispensed from a hospital-style IV dripper bag, hung from the opposite side of the boat. An adjustable valve keeps the flow at about a drop every 5-10 seconds. Other options: Grind fresh baitfish and drop wads of the mash into the current or chop fresh baits at boatside and disburse a few chunks at a time. Whatever your method, chum in moderation. If you fill up the fish, they won't bite a hooked bait. Gaffing Kings Enticing a big king into striking and then working the fish to the boat takes considerable effort. So don't blow the whole deal by losing the fish at the gaff. Rule No. 1 is: Gaff behind the fishing line, so if the fish makes a sudden dash before you strike, it won't run the line across the shaft. Also, gaffing a king above its lateral line minimizes bleeding - an important factor in tournaments where fractions of ounces often separate winners from runner-ups. Some anglers advise gaffing the fish in the head for a quick kill. Others say go for the tail to get the fish's motor out of the water. A good compromise is probably the back region, around the primary dorsal.Just avoid reaching under the surface to gaff a fish. Water distortion will make you look pretty silly. Furthermore, control the adrenalin and eliminate wild stabs. Measure your gaff shot, calmly lay the meat hook across the surfacing fish and smoothly pull it home.It's a good idea to have at least two gaff sizes, like a 12-foot and a 6-foot. Some anglers carry an intermediate length, 8 or 10 feet, for those in-between shots. In most cases, utilizing the longest gaff is best to snare the fish as quickly as possible. The longer the fish is in the water, the more time it has to escape or fall prey to barracudas or sharks. However, if the fish darts back and forth under the boat, a shorter gaff makes the tight shots more manageable. Ultimately, gaffing comes down to common sense and discipline. Stay cool, wait for the shot and you'll make your point. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Millis ini terselengara berkat dukungan PT. KreatifNet - The WebDesign Company http://www.kreatif.com To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website mancing-l at http://www.MancingL.com --> Fishing information, online chat, forum discusion, clasifiedads, etc MancingL Archive at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] ** Save Bandwidth... potong berita yang tidak perlu **
