When I target kingfish , I use 2 rods , on one I set up a bait under a hi vis float and lob it just past the first wave, on the other rod a will deploy a livey , normally a YEM around 8-10" (thats ideal).Results have been quite interesting, I have caught 5 on the floating baits and just the 1 on the livey.Dead baits have included YEM ,skippy, octopus , and pilchard. The last kingfish i caught had a live snapper stuck down its gob and it still took my dead bait , these fish arent fussy ,if its food they will eat it.