Young Ben caught his first legal kingfish today – this one was out at Taranga Island, part of the Hen and Chickens. Although only 76cm, this fish was still quite a challenge to bring in – particularly because we were targeting kahawai on light gear. So you can imagine our surprise when the bait got monstered by a feisty kingi. It took well over 20 minutes to land this fish because of the light gear, but it was well worth it, resulting in “whoop whoops” and hi-5’s all round.

We’re so lucky to have kingfish in our waters so close to shore. They put up such a great fight and have the added bonus of being absolutely delicious. We enjoy ours raw, pan fried, as steaks on the barbeque, or smoked and there’s always enough to share around the neighbourhood. For those that haven’t tried kingfish sashimi, you are missing out. Cut thinly across the grain and served with soy, ginger and wasabi, washed down with a good oakey chardonnay – you’ll be going back for more.