When to fish for Yellowtail Kingfish: Tide-change windows on a moving tide are critical.
Also known as Kingie, Hoodlum, Yellowtail Amberjack, Southern Yellowtail. Bait, technique, tide windows, and where the bite is on right now.
Yellowtail Kingfish — Apex pelagic brawler of southern AU and northern NZ. Also called Kingie, Hoodlum, Yellowtail Amberjack, Southern Yellowtail.
A trophy yellowtail kingfish over 1.2 m is twenty years old. The bite-to-burial time when one hits a jig over a reef bommie is under five seconds. Set the drag locked, or accept the loss before you start.
Yellowtail Kingfish is also known as: Kingie, Hoodlum, Yellowtail Amberjack, Southern Yellowtail. Apex pelagic brawler of southern AU and northern NZ.
Regional names can confuse anglers and cause misidentification. The table of common names below covers the most-used alternatives across Australia, New Zealand and the US:
Key to correct identification: check the regulations-authority species sheet for your state or territory before keeping any fish — minimum legal sizes, bag limits and identification guides are published by each fisheries department and are the authoritative source.
Hero spots in our coverage where Yellowtail Kingfish is in season for August. Click through for the live forecast.
Deeper reading on the species, the tides, the safety, and the timing windows behind the forecast.
For inshore kings, find the bait first — yakka schools over inshore reef bommies, kelp edges, breakwall corners and harbour markers. Anchor up-current and slow-troll or live-bait a slimy in the berley trail; the strike is unmistakable. For offshore kings, knife-jigging vertical structure (FADs, deep wrecks, current lines) in 50–200 m is the most productive method in Australia. Use minimum 50–80 lb braid with a 80–130 lb fluorocarbon leader and lock the drag — kings will bury you in the reef inside 5 seconds.
Field-proven Yellowtail Kingfish methods compiled from published tackle guides — AU East offshore, headlands, reefs and estuaries. Every method links its source.
1live-baiting natural baitfish or squid
Bait / lure: live squid, slimy mackerel, yellowtail scad/yakka, bonito or small tuna matched to local bait
Rig: heavy spin or overhead outfit; streamlined live-bait terminal rig with mono shock leader and abrasion-resistant leader; 7/0-12/0 heavy-gauge hook where bait size suits
When & where: around reefs, headlands, markers, bait schools and other structure where kings can immediately try to bury the angler in cover
2balloon or float live-baiting in a berley trail
Bait / lure: live garfish, mullet, salmon, squid or local baitfish suspended under a float/balloon
Rig: anchor and berley lightly; suspend one or more live baits below floats/balloons behind the boat
When & where: shallow bays, headlands and current-swept edges where cruising kings can be drawn to bait activity
3slow-trolled or weighted live bait
Bait / lure: bridle-rigged live fish bait, unweighted or weighted to depth
Rig: unweighted bait, or a fixed 8-10oz sinker/bomb sinker ahead of roughly 4ft of 60-80lb leader to pull the bait deeper
When & where: deeper reefs, markers and kingfish haunts where bait needs to be kept below the surface or trolled over structure
4vertical jigging
Bait / lure: metal knife, slim or flutter jig matched to depth, drift speed and current
Rig: strong jig outfit with about 80lb braid and 80-130lb abrasion-resistant leader; work the jig fast or erratically
When & where: over reefs, pinnacles, bait marks and current lines when kings are holding below the boat
5topwater casting
Bait / lure: stickbait or popper
Rig: heavy casting spin outfit with strong braid/leader and reinforced terminals
When & where: around bait schools, surface work-ups, high-current edges and structure when kings are feeding up in the water column
Tide-change windows on a moving tide are critical. The first two hours of a run-in tide on a moderate flow (1.5–2.5 knots through harbour markers, for instance) brings bait up and the kings follow. Slack water is dead. On deep offshore wrecks the slack period is actually the best time to get a jig down cleanly — opposite of inshore.
New moon and full moon spring tides are the classic "kingie tides" — strong current pushes bait, kings actively hunt. The two days after the moon phase tend to fish better than the day-of (current peaks a day late). Solunar major periods overlap dawn/dusk in summer, which is when most trophy kings are landed.
Figures come from each jurisdiction's own fisheries authority, with the source linked on every page above. Rules change — closures in particular are reset annually — so confirm with the authority before you keep a fish.
Kingfish carry some of the highest minimum sizes of any Australian recreational species, and they differ state to state — check the figures above for the water you are fishing. Trophy kings 1.2 m+ are 20+ years old; strongly consider releasing the big ones for the next generation. Always verify the current state rule before keeping fish.
NSW size & bag limits for Yellowtail Kingfish — current DPIRD limits, verified →
Other Australian states — size & bag limits for Yellowtail Kingfish: QLD · VIC · WA · SA · TAS
NZ size & bag limits for Yellowtail Kingfish — Auckland & Kermadec area, verified →
The IGFA all-tackle world record for Yellowtail Kingfish is 49.5 kg, caught by Masakazu Taniwaki at Ohara, Chiba, Japan in 2009. The Australian record (GFAA all-tackle) for Yellowtail Kingfish is 42 kg, caught by Bradley Smith at Pt Augusta in 2006.
| Record | Weight | Angler | Location | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World record (IGFA all-tackle)Seriola lalandi | 49.5 kg | Masakazu Taniwaki | Ohara, Chiba, Japan | 2009-10-24 | IGFA → |
| Australian record (GFAA)Seriola lalandi | 42 kg | Bradley Smith | Pt Augusta | 2006-09-17 | GFAA → |
Records as published by the IGFA and the Game Fishing Association of Australia — verify against the linked source before citing.
Olli-Mikael Vaittinen has fished his whole life. Fifteen years of fly fishing, guiding seasons on Norway's Lakselva — his favourite Atlantic salmon river — and a blue marlin landed in Vava'u, Tonga. Founder of Fishare — the app that puts the data behind the decisions every angler makes on the water.
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