Yellowtail kingfish in Australia

Identification and biology

The yellowtail kingfish, Seriola lalandi, is the sportfish of the temperate coast: green-bronze above, silver below, a yellow stripe along the flank and a yellow, forked tail that drives one of the strongest first runs of any inshore fish. Kingfish hunt in packs around headlands, islands, reef edges, bommies, wharves and anything that breaks the current, feeding on squid, garfish, yellowtail and slimy mackerel, and they follow warm water: the summer and autumn push of the East Australian Current down the New South Wales coast brings them to Sydney, Jervis Bay and Montague Island, and the warm months bring them into Port Phillip Heads, the South Australian gulfs and the sounds and islands of Western Australia. Minimum sizes apply in every state and differ; the big fish are old.

Where they live through the year

On the east coast kingfish are a summer and autumn fish inshore, from December to April at the headlands, the harbour markers and the islands, with the biggest fish holding on the deeper reef and the current lines; in winter they are fewer and deeper. In South Australia the fish of Coffin Bay, the top of Spencer Gulf at Port Augusta and Whyalla and the Kangaroo Island reefs run through summer and autumn. In Western Australia the Rottnest and the south-west reefs hold them through the warm months. The Sydney Harbour and Pittwater fish around the channel markers are the ones most people meet first.

The mistakes that cost fish

Fishing too light near structure: a kingfish hooked beside a marker or a bommie goes straight back to it, and the leader and the drag decide the outcome in the first ten seconds. Trolling or casting without live bait when the fish are shut down; a live squid or yellowtail under a balloon or slow-trolled has converted more stubborn kings than any lure. Ignoring the current: kingfish sit where the current hits the structure, and the boat has to be positioned for it. And keeping an undersize fish, when the minimum is there to let the fish reach maturity.

Reading the report for kingfish

The wind row decides whether the headlands and the islands are reachable, and a settled day with a steady current is what kingfish weather looks like. The water temperature estimate matters more for this species than for most: warm water is the switch. The tide panel gives the change at the markers and the wharves. The species card rates the month; the calendar shows the southern summer and autumn as the season.

Tackle setups

Playbook by water temperature

The plan the daily report picks for yellowtail kingfish in each band; the water temperature on each page is a seasonal estimate for its type of water and says so.

Month by month

Activity for the southern year, 1 slow to 5 peak; January is midsummer. Current month highlighted.

Waters we cover for yellowtail kingfish

34 Australia waters carry yellowtail kingfish on their species card, each with a daily report.

Common questions