May, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
279 
THE KINGFISH-A TRULY ROYAL FIGHTER 
BEAUTIFUL IN COLOR AND CONTOUR AND CAPABLE OF A BATTLE ROYAL, 
HE IS GREATLY ESTEEMED BY THE EPICURE AS WELL AS THE ANGLER 
By LEONARD HULIT, Associate Editor of FOREST AND STREAM 
I T has been well said that it is not all of 
fishing to catch fish, and it can be said 
with equal fitness that it is not all of 
catching fish to catch large fish. The sub¬ 
ject of this sketch amplifies the latter quo¬ 
tation to a marked degree. As your trout 
fisherman feels amply rewarded with his 
half pound beauty so does the man who 
goes forth in quest of the kingfish. 
There is no specimen or variety of salt 
water fish which is more eagerly sought, 
weight considered, than the kingfish. Beau¬ 
tiful in form and color, a free, bold biter on 
the hook, and swift as thought when 
hooked, he affords a delight to the wielder 
of the rod who is using proper tackle for 
the subject and when later presented on the 
table is a tid-bit over which the most pro¬ 
nounced epicure well may gloat. 
It does seem strange that a fish which 
has obtained such just popularity through¬ 
out so large a range of coast line should 
have such a confusion of names, and of a 
surety he is entitled to better usage. His 
qualities, viewed from any point, are of 
such an attractive character that it would 
seem., a universal name would be easy to 
■t 
establish. 
A single state furnishes three distinct 
names for this popular fish and as a whole 
he is caught and bought under more titles 
than is consistent. In Connecticut he is 
known by the name of “tomcod” while he 
bears no resemblance to the fish which is 
properly so called; “kingfish” in New York 
and the northern sections of New Jersey; 
“barb” in the vicinity of Barnegat, and 
“sea mink,” “black mullet” and “whiting” 
as we gather the names from more southern 
waters. Though differently classified by 
icthyologists, the resemblance of the surf 
whiting of southern waters and the kingfish 
is most remarkable, and save in color it is 
impossible to distinguish the difference, at 
least by the average man. One fact is no¬ 
ticeable to the thoughtful, the whiting of 
the south averages less in weight than his 
northern compeer. 
The kingfish has a range extending along 
the Massachusetts coast down to the Caro- 
linas, and may be met with in all the tidal 
streams between the above points, where 
good channel ways are maintained. It goes 
much in schools and where one is met with 
others may in confidence be looked for. 
Along the entire New Jersey coast it is a 
great favorite with the angler and in this 
class of fishing modern methods leave but 
little to be desired. The reels are superb 
and rods and lines have reached the degree 
of perfection. We are considering now the 
high grade goods, not the “bargain counter” 
variety where the sixty-nine cent reel and 
dollar-nineteen rod are palmed off by the 
clerk of incompetence as “just the thing.” 
Such merchandise may have its uses but 
it is not in this class of fishing. 
Many authorities assert that but little is 
known of its spawning habits, and that its 
habits in this respect are obscure. Very 
close observation of more than a quarter 
century has taught me that it reaches the 
New Jersey coast about May 20th, the 
gravid fish then being heavy with spawn, 
and most certainly performs its reproduct¬ 
ive functions in the waters of our rivers 
and bays, as I have taken multitude of the 
fingerling fish in the Autumn months when 
hauling bait nets in such waters, which fry 
were surely the progeny of the current year. 
The kingfish is most cleanly in its habits 
and it is undoubtedly in unpolluted waters 
only that it makes its spawning habitat, as it 
is only in such streams which are not affect¬ 
ed by sewage or other deleterious substances 
where I have met with the young fish. 
A most curious feature of common 
knowledge is that at least eight out of ten 
fish taken on the hook in the early season 
are females, which is a peculiarity not met 
in any other variety of fish with which I 
am familiar. Whether the females are so 
greatly in excess in point of numbers, or 
whether their gravid condition gives them 
a stronger desire for food must be left to 
conj ecture. 
I N the surf the kingfish is known as an 
inshore feeder, nosing along the points 
of beach and bars in quest of its food 
which consists of shrimps, the numberless 
varieties of snails and the smaller Crusta¬ 
cea. Generally any of these may success¬ 
fully be used as bait, but undoubtedly the 
two best baits are shedder crabs and blood¬ 
worms, or white worms, as they are some¬ 
times called. 
The kingfish bites well either day or 
night and is taken during all conditions of 
the tide; but if the best conditions are 
sought, and your true surf fisherman is 
ordinarily not content with less than the 
best, then the advice is be on hand just as 
the day is breaking and when the tide is 
flood. Select a’ point where the bar is 
within easy casting distance, which can be 
easily told by the long line of white foam 
and the churned condition of the water. 
To get the most enjoyment from the sport 
tackle must be as light as is at all con¬ 
sistent; the rod just stiff enough to put 
the bait out. Under ordinary conditions of 
the sea one and one-half ounces of lead is 
sufficient, a nine thread line and a 1-0 
multiplying reel of high quality; this will 
be found to be the ideal equipment. A 
two, or at most, a three-ply leader not more 
than a foot in length should be used; a 
brass box swivel is essential, into which the 
lirie and leader should be secured using the 
same eye for both. The remaining eye is 
to be used for fastening the lead line, 
which should not be more than six inches 
in length. Thus arranged, the line and 
leader are in direct communication and 
the least touch on the hook can be instantly 
felt. And now as to the hook: on this 
subject hours of earnest debate among 
anglers and in the fishing clubs have been 
held. I have tried every make with which 
I am familiar, and various sizes, and un¬ 
hesitatingly pronounce the high grade 2-0 
Sproat as superior to all others. Being 
short from point to bend it is readily taken 
into the peculiarly formed mouth of the 
kingfish and holds well. 
Thus equipped, and the bait well out to 
the desired spot, the line must be held taut 
and the fisherman keenly alert, for the 
readiness with which a kingfish can steal 
a bait and make its getaway is really most 
astonishing, accustomed as they are to 
wrenching loose their food from its fast¬ 
enings. The strike is most peculiar and 
once felt is never forgotten, nor mistaken 
for others, being a nervous twitch, sharp 
and rapid. As he rarely hooks himself the 
fisherman must at the instant of touch 
strike firmly but, not too hard, and if the 
quarry be hooked a battle such as but few 
fish of from one to two and one-half 
pounds are capable of is in order. As they 
have a peculiar leather-like mouth, a hook 
once set holds well and is rarely shaken 
out. If the specimen be a large one the 
determined resistance set up at the water’s 
edge is truly remarkable. Striking a 
course parallel .with the beach and with 
head well down every atom of momentum 
they are capable of with fin and tail is 
exerted until the angler may well be con¬ 
vinced that much larger prey is engaged. 
If the quest be earnestly and intelligently 
pursued the pastime is of high order and 
the gastronomic reward great. As the tide 
increases the cast should be shortened for 
they move inshore with the increased depth 
of water until at high tide they feed di¬ 
rectly at what is termed the shingle, or 
sand of the beach, I have taken multitudes 
of them within ten feet of the sand just 
back of the breaking swell. 
A S to river and bay fishing much the 
same order of things obtain as to 
time of day and tidal conditions but 
the tackle should be lighter. A good black 
bass rod is now in order, in fact a bass 
(continued on page 298) 
