From the beachfront to offshore rigs, Texas’ Gulf waters are teeming with drag sizzling kingfish.

Story and Photography By Robert Sloan

I see a lot of crazy stuff in the water and on my boat, but last summer I had a “LOL” moment that was off the charts funny. A man and his daughter were onboard for a day of catching kingfish out of Port O’Connor. The seas were flat, the water was green and clear, and kings were busting pods of bait all over the place.
I rigged up to rods with shallow diving crankbaits cast them out and handed them over to the angling duo. “Just slowly reel the baits in and hang on,” I said.
Turned to put the boat in gear, I looked back just in time to see the rod and reel literally get yanked smooth out of the man’s loose grip. He was standing there looking at his empty hands then looked up at me with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
A king mackerel is one the fastest gamefish any coastal angler can tangle with and they can be caught just about anywhere along the Texas coast from early summer through September. They will hit lures as well as dead or live baits, and when they come calling you’d better be hanging on. They are truly one of the most exciting sport fish that can be targeted in the Gulf.
Kings are speed demons. A king matches its distant relative, the wahoo, in speed. A “hoo” can scat along at 60 miles per hour. A king isn’t quite that fast. However, when you set the hook a king can flat turn on the speed and melt a healthy length of line off a reel.

continue article»