Chucking poppers from predawn first light for hour or so until sun pokes its head out then stickbaiting the ocean headlands can be very effective. In over cast conds you can pop longer. Useful poppers include blackjack tuna 80, halco roosta 135 and next size up, yozuri sashimi bull 150, sebile splasher 152, dumbells in similar size. Slow popping works a treat and you don't need to blast the popper and create a sonic boom, just focus on a consistent pop factoring in wave movements. In bigger swells you can use Cubera 125's, these hold their position in water well in stirred up conditions and again just a consisitent soft-moderate pop action is all thats required....their size and cup face has enough presence in water to draw kings in all conditions.
Stickbaits for headlands could include blackjack/nomad ulua 90s, shimano orca 190, maria loaded 180....or more exy carpenters and FCL labos. Slow sweeping retrieves work well.
I fish the rocks so I'll leave boat positioning for others to comment, but as Leo said mix it up.....pop has produced far more for me than stickbait and is very exciting but to do that you need to hit the headlands in predawn first light, so up to you. Stickbaits can produce right through the day. Popping off boat can produce through daytime but it seems to lag behind stickbaits off rocks during these periods.
You can also throw 12inch sluggos at the headlands for bigger kings, hot pink or white works a treat. They can be cast a surprising distance with right outfit even on pe8-10....sink to near bottom, then crank em in with start stop pauses eg in Craig Mcgill videos.
Can't comment on middle harbour because I don't fish it, but the headland kings definitely respond to poppers and stickbaits. Keep casting em and over time patterns will emerge with fish raised and hooked in different conds. Don't be put off by winds ( as long as you can swim lures properly) ie don't have to be tucked out of way of NE wind to produce big kings.
Go smash em
Regards
Kajtek
