King Mackerel Rigs for the Pier

When you're visiting a fishing pier you often see the largest crowd of fishermen gathered around the end of the pier. These are your King Mackerel fishermen and most of them have their own "King Mackerel only" signs beyond a certain point of the pier. King Mackerel is an extremely popular fish to catch on many piers around the Southeast and Gulf Coasts, and if you want to catch one of these prize fish, below are two popular rigs you can use.

Trolley Rigs:

Walking along any North Carolina pier you'll notice fishermen using 2 rods to catch King Mackerel. These are called Trolley Rigs. One rod anchors the bait down in the water while the other rod holds the bait. You see, the anchor rod simply has an anchor sinker on the end that you cast out and let grab the sand. Then the second rod or fighting rod has the leader wire and bait, which attaches to the anchor rod's line. When a fish hits, the snap breaks and you're fighting the fish on your fighting rod.

To fish a trolley rig, grab two rods, one preferably a surf rod which casts further, and a 7' King Mackerel rod. Tie your sinker and a downrigger release clip to your surf rod's line. Note: its a good idea to use a heavy mono leader for the anchor rod setup. Now, cast the rod out and away from others setups. Next, get your fighting rod and tie on your King rig. Bait your rig and attach the line to the downrigger release clip. Slide the bait line down the anchor line. When a King Mackerel hits, the downrigger release will let go of your king rig and you'll be set to fight your smoker!

Gulf Coast / Florida Pier Style:

When I visited a Pensacola Pier for the first time, I saw something strange. The fishermen weren't using trolley rigs to catch King Mackerel. In fact, there were signs on the pier saying no trolley rigs allowed! Instead, they took a live or dead bait and stuck a treble hook through its nose and just chunked it out. I thought to myself, how is a dead bait floating on top of the water going to catch a fish? Well, it does! This rig is what I've self-titled the "Florida King rig".

First off, grab a 2' or so section of wire or sevenstrand leader. On one end, tie on a #4 treble hook, or a treble that matches the size of your bait, bigger for bigger baits, smaller for smaller baits. A #4 is a pretty average popular size. To tie the treble to the leader, use a figure eight knot if you're using sevenstrand leader or haywire twist for single strand wire. Next, attach your leader to a swivel that's on your mainline. Again, use a haywire twist or figure eight knot. Put your treble hook through the bait's nose and cast it out as far as you can. You can let it sit and sink, then slowly give it action so that it looks like a fish dying and falling through the water. Prepare for a King to inhale it!