King mackerel: Rows of sharp teeth, a ton of fight and a taste that can’t be beat

2020 ranks up there as tops on strange years which I have been on this earth.

I usually thank the Lord for every day I am able to enjoy the wonders on this planet but quite frankly, I will be glad when the timeclock flips over into 2021. Between political divide, the pandemic and questionable decisions regarding the health of the environment, it all keeps me awake on some nights.

Thank God for the ocean because without it, I might just throw up my hands and crawl into the woods like an old dog looking for a final resting place.Wasn’t that enlightening! I hate to start out my columns with a downer but just voicing my feelings about these stressful times helps me switch gears to more uplifting subjects.

With that said, one plus to this period is more and more people are turning to the water as an escape. I notice it every time I am on the water and according to my good friend Grant Kaple, manager of the Boathouse on Hilton Head, he can’t keep enough boats in stock because they are selling so fast.

It was this positive note that got me thinking about all the want-to-be anglers with new boats who simply don’t have the know-how to catch dinner.

As I tried to think of some type of fish that would be a possible fish of a lifetime for novice anglers and yet didn’t require years of angling prowess to achieve success, I thought of the king mackerel.

Large, lightning fast and loaded with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, king mackerel have made a huge comeback in our waters. Techniques for catching them have changed greatly over the years with the current method requiring more skill than back in the day. So being an old schooler myself, here is how we caught them for years and years before new methods were developed.

Back then, you didn’t have to know how to throw a large cast net, have large capacity live wells and refined fishing skills.

Instead all it took was some frozen ballyhoo, Sea Witch skirts, wire leader, hooks, Drone spoons and a couple of planers and, more often than not, you would come home with a box full of fish. Oh yeah, a long-handled gaff is a must.

The usual set-up requires four rods. The two rods in back rod holders fished deep using #3 planers with either a #3 Drone spoons or ballyhoo with Sea Witch skirt in front of it.

Starting at the planer, attach approx. 3-4-feet of 40lb. leader with a snap swivel at the end. As for both the ballyhoo or Drone spoon put 3 feet of 60-80lb. test wire leader. Wire leaders are a must for all rigs because when a big king hits, those teeth are gnashing away. For the two rod holders forward, these will stay on the surface with a ballyhoo and Sea Witch on a longer wire leader, say around 4 feet. Many times, when a king hits one of these they will come five or so feet in the air, which is quite the spectacle. If you are at a loss how to twist your wire leaders, go online to YouTube and watch how to do a “haywire twist”. Rigging ballyhoo with a Sea Witch can also be found on YouTube.

I prefer 9/0 hooks rigging ballyhoo. You need to let out the surface baits first, staggering them around forty yards behind the boat. For the deep rods, I stagger those around 20-30 yards behind the boat. Planers have to be “set” before they will go down. To do this, slide the metal ring on top of the planer toward you and with some slack in your line, simply drop it in the water.

You’ll need fairly stout rods for planers because they put a lot of pressure on the rod. When a king hits, that ring on top will trip, sliding the ring backward, allowing you to fight only the fish. Most tackle shops like the Boathouse tackle shop, Bluffton Marine Supply and Southern Drawl Outfitters have everything you’ll need plus they can give you a quick lesson on rigging.

One thing about this Old School way of king mackerel fishing that I like is you are trolling (around 5-6 knots), allowing you to cover more ground, and hopefully, more fish. Our artificial reefs are loaded with kings along with both the Savannah ship channel and Port Royal ship channel. Because these areas are not far offshore, even smaller single engine boats can reach kings. As a matter of fact, my largest king here weighed 49 lbs. and was caught just outside the mouth of Port Royal Sound.

Got questions, call me at (843)816-6608 or email collinsdoughtie@icloud.com.

Fried or marinated in Italian salad dressing for a few minutes and then grilled, these fish are delicious.

Kingfish, simply put, are the bomb!