b'KINGFISH Piper are a firm favourite but they are delicate little fish and difficult to catch sometimes so arent always a good first choice unless the conditions are right e.g. its calm, you can catch a good sized one and you can get it back out quickly on the right gear. Remember when using circle hooks, dont strike when the kingfish swallows the bait, just start winding until the weight comes on then start fighting the fish.Jack mackerel are one of the best livies because they are relatively abundant, easy to catch and arent as delicate as piper. They can also grow to larger sizes making them a bit hardier. Blue koheru, if you can find them, are a lucky charm and likely to get absolutely smashed if a king sees it even more than Jack mackerel.Yellow eyed mullet will get eaten by A Little Barrier kingfish thatkingfish but tend to be an inshore fish fell for a Jack mackerel trolledaround estuaries and river mouths or in slowly in the shallows. the surf. They have a bit of stamina and are better than nothing if other live bait options are limited. Their bigger cousins The rig to use for fishing smallthe grey mullet are much better and live baits in the deep zone withhardier if you are able to get them using heavy duty swivel, circle hook and 5oz+ sinker. a net or snagging on treble hooks as they swim together in tight schools.RIGGING KAHAWAI FOR THE SHALLOW ZONEKahawai are best rigged on a floating rig with a balloon attached. Your mainline is attached to a swivel which is connected to your leader that is usually around 1.5-3m long. Choose 100-150lb leader material and a mainline of 50lb or more is standard. You can go lighter if you are fishing an area where sharp rocks are not close by (e.g. muddy estuary or off a surf beach) and easy to access for the hooked kingfish.Use heavy duty swivels and hooks, not the sort of gear you would normally Tie the inflatedcatch snapper on and make sure you tie balloon to aTie a short 10cm lengthyour knots well. Good live bait hooks are snap swivelof 5-6lb mono to theeither circle hooks (non-offset like the and then attachswivel and then attachBKK inline heavy circle hook) or short the mainline to the mainline shanked live bait hooks like the Black Magic GZ style hook.Tie a balloon to the bottom eye of the swivel (that is attached to the leader) with some light 6lb mono (about 10cm long). When the kingfish hits, the balloon This shallow water rig forbreaks away and you are left to fight kahawai means the balloonthe kingfish. See the photo for a better isnt lost after a strike so itvariation of this that means the balloon can be re-used and doesntdoesnt float away but slides up and pollute the ocean. down the line instead and can be reused.12FISHING IN GODZONE MAR/APR 2022'