Bassin' in the Salt: Freshwater Ploys to Chase Kingfish

Employ popular bass tactics to gain an edge on king mackerel.

April 30, 2025 By Terry Lacoss

There are many things you can do to improve your chances of boating saltwater fish like king mackerel, cobia and grouper. One great strategy is to look for—and fish—bottom structure in the same way freshwater bass fishermen do. Another tip is to use the equipment bass fishermen have used for years, the bow-mount electric trolling motor.

I was primarily a bass fisherman when I began saltwater fishing Amelia Island’s St. Marys Inlet in the early 1970s. Right away I began searching for structure kingfish and other gamefish might be attracted to. On my first trip, I noticed fishing boats were both anchored and trolling and I assumed there was some sort of structure on the bottom.

Eventually I located a deep slough at the tip of the south jetties where a variety of big saltwater gamefish were holding during the last of the incoming tide. Some 50 fishing seasons later I have to say this has been my very best “bassin’” waters! I’ve counted 50-pound redfish, 200-pound tarpon, 75-pound cobia, 500-pound sharks, and my favorite, “smoker” kingfish weighing up to 50 pounds.

In the beginning I would simply anchor upcurrent of the deep slough so that my baits would be presented in the strike zone. Live and dead baits were placed on the bottom and on the surface. Although fishing was excellent, I could not fine tune my bait locations while the boat was anchored. Many times, I found myself wishing my baits to be presented 10 yards to the left or right of my boat.

Fast forward to today, and we’re fishing out of center consoles and bay boats with bow-mount electric motors that enable us to stop and go as we please, making whatever adjustments are needed to position baits.

A fishing crew in a boat fights a king mackerel fish. — Fernandina Beach king mackerel fishermen use a bow-mount electric trolling motor to stay on the bite.

Instead of anchoring at the jetties, I now use the “anchor” mode on my 36-volt Power-Pole MOVE electric trolling motor. It’s a cinch to present my baits. And, when a big kingfish eats and takes off on a speedy run, we can instantly begin chasing it down, without sacrificing time pulling an anchor or setting an anchor ball and starting the main engine. The bow-mount trolling motor also makes for easy, tight turns as we attempt to stay right on top of a hooked fish.

The trolling motor is a great asset when kingfish move farther offshore, where slow-trolling a tideline or patch of live bottom is an effective strategy. Years ago, we’d troll with outboards at the slowest speeds possible, often adding one or more sea anchors to the stern, or a 5-gallon bucket tied off to the transom for extra drag. However, when lithium batteries were introduced and more powerful electric trolling motors were developed, many avid king mackerel fishermen began slow trolling with a bow-mounted electric motor.

My 36-volt electric trolling motor can last all day equipped with three fully charged 12-volt lithium batteries. I can also adjust the speed so that my live baits are swimming slowly behind my bay boat while staying in the strike zone longer and easier to capture by structure orientated kingfish.

Florida Sportsman Action Spotter Podcast host Rick Ryals also slow-trolls with his boat’s 36-volt electric motor, keeping his baits in the strike zone.

“The biggest advantage of slow trolling with my electric trolling motor is that it is quieter than my outboard,” Rick said. “This attracts more kingfish strikes closer to my boat while saving fuel costs and cutting hours on my outboard.”

Got Chum? Slow Down and Use It!

If you can castnet a few 5-gallon buckets of menhaden, put the liveliest in the livewell and keep the rest cool for chumming. The electric trolling motor makes the next step a piece of cake. Once you’ve marked structure, set the electric trolling motor anchor mode to keep the boat within casting distance of the dropoff. Toss a handful of dead menhaden into your targeted waters to attract the attention of gamefish in the area. Visitors inspecting your sinking chum may include king mackerel as well as snapper, barracuda, amberjack, cobia and more.

Here I like to try a few things. The obvious is to fish a live menhaden nose-hooked on a wire leader. I also enjoy casting a 1-ounce bucktail jig, which is an effective lure for many species. Also on occasion, I have enjoyed casting an 8-weight fly rod/sinking line, rigged with a short section of No. 4, brown colored Malin wire to a white/chartreuse Umpqua Tuscan Bunny fly, a great one for schooling kingfish. I pinch a splitshot to the wire leader to help the fly sink into the strike zone.