It was chaos! the pack of Kingfish erupted on the surface splaying froth and panicking baitfish in every direction. Words can’t even describe the sight as I grabbed my topwater gear and belted a quick cast into the riot. Fish were flying all over the surface and after a couple of winds ‘booom’! As line peeled off the wailing Stella all I could do was watch and hang on. With 15kgs of drag locked on it was one of those moments where the sheer excitement was overriding the pain of every muscle screaming to hold fast. After a tough, twenty-minute tug-o-war the fish finally turned, and I was able to coax him up. Kingfish are brutal on any gear, but on the longer topwater rods they have a leverage advantage and as an angler, you get to feel every bit of the fight even more than on normal jigging gear. When the fish appeared it was as much a relief as anything, and I knew this was around a 30kg PB straight away. Such a magnificent fish deserved to go back to get even bigger, so after a few snaps he was back over the side leaving me with that exhausted and elated feeling. Did that really happen?

Assist rigs and your choice of hook can often make a big difference when you do connect with a decent fish. Here's Tony Orton showing us how to make your own rigs allowing a tailored hook size and assist length.

Rock fishing newbie Paul Walker charts a treasure trove of nooks and crannies heading up the East Coast from Auckland

Here's a great look at all the key factors before planning a fishing trip courtesy of ol mate Briggsy from Aus. In this educational fishing series we look at time of day, tide, moon phase, current, and weather.