Tackle The King- Outfits For Yellowtail Kingfish

By Sam Gilchrist

Few saltwater species are as demanding on tackle as yellowtail kingfish. Here's my three go-to outfits when I go hunting for XOS kings. 

1. TOPWATER (Stickbaits)

My absolute go-to is the Daiwa Spartan S85 PE6/8 partnered with a Daiwa Saltiga 14000. Spooled with 80 to 100lb J-Braid and 150 to 200lb J-Thread Spartan Leader.

This outfit is perfectly balanced in terms of casting ability and distance. A great tip for swimming stickbaits and with plenty of power and grunt when loaded up on a charging kingfish.

N.B. This outfit may read HEAVY, but trust me, you'll need every bit of it when a ling over the 140cm or 25kg plus range inhales your stickbait!

A substitute for the above could be 20 Demon Blood S85 and the Certate 14000.

2. JIGGING

The Spartan S55 PE4/6 partnered with the Saltiga 10000. Spooled with 60 to 80lb J-Braid and 60 to 120lb J-Thread Spartan Leader.

This stumpy little jigging combo packs a punch! You'll put the breaks on some serious creatures with this outfit in your hands.

3. TOPWATER (Poppers)

The Spartan S74 PE4/6 partnered with the Saltiga 10000 Spooled with 80lb J-Braid and 120-150lb J-Thread Spartan Leader.

This little outfit goes HARD and is my go to popping outfit for kings. The S7/4 was specifically designed for this purpose by the Daiwa Australia team and it does not disappoint!

* This outfit actually claimed my first and only topwater slam (in NSW) being a 120cm kingfish, a 13kg Spanish mackerel and a 75cm snapper.

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