Tom Brooks caught this king in the St. Augustine Ancient City Tournament. The fish was good for fifth place. Photo by Ron Brooks.

Who rules the beach?

In northeast Florida this time of year, it’s certainly the king mackerel. The summer months bring kingfish in close to shore both for feeding and in preparation for spawning.

Kings are carnivores and eat a variety of baitfish and invertebrates like shrimp and squid. In the south end of the state, surveys have shown that their primary forage fish is ballyhoo.

But in the northeast, though ballyhoo are sometimes present, the king mackerel’s most prevalent foods are Spanish sardines and menhaden.

The sardines tend to be offshore over bottom structure and wrecks. Menhaden are historic beach dwellers, with huge schools moving up and down the coast all summer long.

During August, the keys to finding -- and catching -- kingfish are proper water temperature and available food. Find the two in the same area, and a supply of kingfish should be there as well.

Kings prefer water temperatures above 68 degrees and are seldom, if ever, found in water any colder than that. Up to a point, the warmer the water, the better your chances of finding fish.

If the water temperature tops 85 degrees, however, king mackerel will move out.

The good news is that the primary food fish for kings also seek out the warmer water. So, water temperature plays an extremely important part in finding catchable kingfish.

Kingfish are caught year ‘round off of northeast Florida. In colder months, they stay well offshore, around deep wrecks and reefs and seeking the warm-water influence of the Gulf Stream. It’s the warmer summer months that find kings lurking along the beaches.

As the water warms in the spring, menhaden -- which local anglers call pogies -- begin to migrate north.

The kings move right along with those baitfish. As the menhaden move north, from the beach you can see huge schools of them, flipping on the surface just beyond the breakers.

By the summer, the migration has reached the First Coast of the Florida peninsula, and kingfish anglers know the pogies are the sign that beach kings are also arriving.

Since the kingfish are keying on the menhaden, those baitfish are also the ones that anglers use most often to attract the kings.

The cutlass fish, known locally as ribbonfish, could actually be the most productive bait for big kings, but they are difficult to find and catch on your own. Also, they tend to be expensive at local bait shops. Frozen ribbonfish sell for as high as $6.00 apiece during kingfish tournament weeks.

The method for catching some of these beach kings is really pretty easy, and it can yield an enjoyable, relaxing day on the water.

Your relaxation will be interrupted only by an occasional screaming drag when a kingfish strikes.

BAITING UP
Bait is the first order of the day. Heading out from St. Augustine or Mayport, skippers can be heard on VHF channel 68 or 69 hailing other fishermen, looking for bait.

Calls similar to “Anybody out there on bait out of St. Augustine?” usually draw replies that bait pods are north -- or south, or off the pier.

But another way to find the baitfish is to watch for pelicans and other diving birds while you run the beach beyond the breakers.

Even without birds, pods of pogies are easy to spot on a reasonably calm day. They come to the surface and create a “ruffled” area