b'HUGE BASSThe 6-day charter was typical for giantEli, Sam, and Richard under hunting at the Kings targeting marlin,the towering rock formations as the skipper puts Te Ariki puka, bass and kingfish. The next dayNui in amongst the wash.saw us back at the King Bank looking for bottom beasts. Calm weather meant a nice slow drift and the bass were on the chew. The fish of the day went to Marshall Stoddart with a thumping 70kg specimen. What a beast and if it had legs, you could have certainly thrown a saddle on it and rode it! Hooked in 130m and even on the heavy gear it wasnt guaranteed to be lifted off the bottom, but after much grunting and sweating we got it on board. Most of the boys managed to land bass, with Andrew Bell scoring a double of these tasty fish on one drop. Not to be outdone, father-son team Richard and Kiren Lennon scored some brute sizedEli with his solid trevally bass on their respective drops. caught while at anchor.The next few days we oscillated between the King Bank and the islands. Eli Cummings and a few of the boys scored some of the resident titanic sized trevally the Kings are renown for, with bass and kingfish landed in between trying for marlin. The beakies were light on the chew and further captures eluded us, on our last day we targeted kingfish and the 3 Kings delivered the monster fish.Trolling through ominous water with heavy swell, everyone had one hand on the rail wherever they walked for fear of being flipped off their feet. Trolling close by one of the dagger like rock stacks thrust out of the ocean, two lures were engulfed and one of them was playing hard to get. Hardemphatic reply of hell no! from Andrew.suddenly had everyones attention as his work from Marshall saw his 30kg kingfishSerious fish need serious drag and whenrod folded in half and the top section slid come aboard and again on a Bonze lure.the golden monster slid through the door,down into the ocean leaving the reel on It wasnt going to be the catch of the dayeveryones jaws hit the deck.With 40kgthe butt section. Some heavy winding for too long though. We switched to liveof green/gold tackle smashing machineworked the fish up to the boat and a baits and jigs to work the surroundinglying before us.primo puka around the 12kg mark slid area as the sounder told us there was anLooking closer at the fish, I could see athrough the door. abundance of fish underneath. second section of line protruding fromThe sun was setting as we threw the the fishs mouth and there was Kirenslures in for a troll back to North Cape MEGA KINGIES rig. Kiren had lost his leader 30 minutesbefore a final stretch back to base. The Heavy PE 8 jigging gear was necessaryearlier after a strike and a tangle that hadlast day was pristine with dolphins, orca, and even that didnt stop fish gettingrobbed him of his trophy. The mighty fishand bird life but no beakies interested in away. The kingies were close to the dropslapped the deck several times and theour lures. We had some tentative taps but offs at the base of the rock stacks andvibrations raced along the wood and upagain the fish were light on the chew. Still, Andrew insisted on backing up until wemy feet. With the rocking boat, slipperywe had all enjoyed a taste of giants at the were in the white water cascading offdeck and massive fish still, Sam and I liftedThree Kings and they did not disappoint. the rocks. It was incredible topographythe beast carefully into Andrew arms forThanks to Andrew, Sam, and the boys for with steep, sheer faces towering abovea round of photos before it was releasedthe spirit of teamwork which made the us before plunging into deep blue water. back into the water.trip a great one. FIGZGeorge was smashed and had to push theWe fished on with a few toothy beasts Jigging Master to the max to stop gettingtrying to cash in on our live baits andFOR MORE INFORMATIONreefed. Asking if he could push the dragthe odd kingfish coming aboard. AndrewKeen on a trip to the Kings?back a little to relieve a bit of pressurepicked up the jig and with some fierceVisit: pelagiccharters.co.nz.on his arms, he was greeted with therod waving, hooked a fish. A loud crack/FISHINGINGODZONE15'