Lazz Santella asked the question back on June 15:
"Where are the kingies?"
On Monday, nearly a month later, he answered his own question when he finally "hit them" at the 8th Street Jetty in Avalon.
He got wet from waves breaking over the rocks, but he kept on going because the small but tasty kingfish have been more than scarce up until recently.
"Sometimes you have to get punished to have a good fishing day," he reported via email.
He said the bite started when the tide began moving in, and then it was a steady action for two hours. He said there was hardly anyone else out on the rocks.
All of the fish had roe, which seems unusual for a spawn this time of the year. They head for the back bays when they are ready to spawn.
Santella hopes they will spread out to the Sea Isle City beaches.
Santella has been searching for and catching kingfish in the SIC surf for 21 years. He said earlier that this year was a "terrible" start for them. Before now, he had a little "hit" in May in Townsends Inlet, and that was about it.
