Snapped lines, broken rods, and tails of "the one that got away" are all to common when it comes to big "Kingies", with the species nick named "hoodlums" for good reason.

Keen fisherman Nick Rodwell was fishing last week on the NSW North Coast with a crew of Dubbo fisho's , when out of the blue a 116cm Yellowtail Kingfish climbed all over a bait that was rigged up on a light rod, intended for a snapper.

To everyone on the boats amazement, the cards fell Nick's way, as he somehow extracted the hoodlum off a very rocky out crop that, by all rights, should have seen him 'reefed' and snapped off in the first few moments of the battle.

It was smiles all round for the fish of a lifetime, and a first for Roddy, who not only broke the one metre mark for a Kingy, but did it in style at 116cm.

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According to NSW DPI Fisheries, Yellowtail Kingfish occur in ocean waters from Queensland's south to Western Australia, and inhabit temperate waters worldwide.

The Seriola Ialandi (it's scientific name) are often found associated with floating objects in the ocean and pylons and jetties within bays.

Juveniles are commonly found in schools.

The largest fish commonly caught are up to 1m long, weighing 10-15kg. Maximum size is 70kg and approximately 1.5 m in length.

Yellowtail Kingfish have long bodies and a slender head, which is longer than their body depth.

Yellowtail Kingfish are generally a blue or blue-green colour on their back, white-silver below.

The caudal fin is yellow.

Some people have confused them with Samson fish, when identifying the species, however Samson Fish (Seriola hippos) have a head shorter than their body depth.

Both species have been known to swim together.

The legal size for Kingfish in NSW waters is 65cm, with a bag limit of five fish.

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