Yellowtail kingfish

A long, powerful amberjack with a blue-green back, silver-white belly, a brassy-yellow stripe from the eye to the tail, and a bright yellow forked tail. Has no dark band through the eye like the greater amberjack.

10–40 lb; "rats" under 10 lb are common, and fish over 60 lb are caught every season in New Zealand and South Australia.

Over 8 ft and about 200 lb (96.8 kg).

Squid, garfish, mackerel, yellowtail scad, pilchards and other baitfish.

Schools around rocky headlands, pinnacles, wrecks and buoys, and is famous for diving straight into the rocks or reef as soon as it's hooked. Young kingfish school near the surface; big fish are often alone or in small groups.

Found from South-East Australia & Tasmania, New Zealand, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Northern Territory & Western Australia, Southern Africa and Northern & Central Chile. Temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere: southern Queensland to Tasmania and across to Western Australia, all of New Zealand (the Bay of Islands, White Island and the Three Kings are famous), South Africa and Chile. The fish of the North Pacific are now treated as separate species.

Temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere: southern Queensland to Tasmania and across to Western Australia, all of New Zealand (the Bay of Islands, White Island and the Three Kings are famous), South Africa and Chile. The fish of the North Pacific are now treated as separate species.

Surface to 600 ft; mostly 15–200 ft.

20–150 ft around pinnacles and reefs.

Spring to autumn (about November to May); winter fish hold deeper.

Daylight hours, especially early morning and late afternoon.

Moving water: the hours around the tide change, when current pushes over the reef edges and bait gets swept along.

Stable weather with clean water; a few days of steady conditions beat a front coming through.

Live squid, garfish, yellowtail scad and koheru; whole dead squid.

Knife and slow-pitch jigs (5–10 oz), big topwater stickbaits and poppers, and large soft plastics.

Jigging rod (PE 3–6) or a heavy spinning rod with a 10000–14000 reel; heavy stand-up gear for live baiting.

Assist hooks on jigs; 6/0–9/0 circle or live-bait hooks.

50–80 lb braid.

80–130 lb fluorocarbon.

Find the fish on the sounder over pinnacles or around buoys, drop a jig or live bait and work it up through the school. When you hook up, lean back hard and keep winding — every foot you give lets the fish reach the rocks.

Kingfish follow a lure to the boat: keep the jig moving all the way up and be ready for a hit right at the surface.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Good eating when fresh.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

Excellent raw as sashimi (it's the hiramasa of sushi menus), or grilled; bleed and ice it at once. Big old fish can have worms in the meat.

Powerful fish — wear a harness on heavy gear and keep your fingers clear of the line.

New Zealand has a 75 cm minimum size and a low daily limit; Australian states each set a minimum size (around 60–65 cm) and bag limits. Check current rules. Rules differ between Australia and New Zealand: NSW, Victoria and Western Australia (boat fishing) require a recreational licence, other Australian states and New Zealand's sea fishing need none, but bag limits, size limits and marine reserves apply everywhere.

Kingfish over 1 m are the breeders; many anglers keep one fish of 75–90 cm for the table and tag and release the rest.