How to Build a Kingfish Stinger Rig

There are few baits more appealing to trophy kingfish than a big blue runner. Blue runners, or hardtails, are hardy, easy to catch and can be flown from a kite, drifted on the edge of a reef or slow-trolled over a wreck. Big kings are known to tear gear up, and your best bet for landing one is to use a double-treble stinger rig, made with #5 wire. Text and photos by Hunter Ledbetter / hunterledbetterphotos.com.

Select your bait from the well and eyeball it for size to determine how far you will need to space out the J-hook and treble hooks.

Take #5 wire and attach a 4/0 to 6/0 J-hook using a haywire twist. Finish with four tight wraps and break off the tag end cleanly.

Slide two treble hooks onto this first piece of wire and secure the second treble with a haywire twist. Then, attach a second 10- to 12-inch piece of wire to your J-hook with a another haywire twist.

This second piece of wire will attach to a 40-pound mono leader coming off of the main line. To begin that connection, start by making a rounded bend in the wire.

Push the mono leader through the bend in the wire, make three loops and go back out through the "eye" of the wire. Wet the mono and cinch it down tight.

Trim the mono leader and wire tag ends. This connection doesn't have to be particularly neat, as this knot won't be traveling through the rod guides.

Hook the blue runner through the nose with the J-hook and just slightly stick the trebles in the skin of the bait's back and tail. Leave a bit of slack in the wire so the bait can swim properly.

However you want to fish your stinger rig -- with a kite, trolling or drifting -- it's kingfish candy and you will get results! Here, Hannah shows off a healthy South Florida king mackerel.