KEY POINTS:
Summer is an attractive time for surfcasters: a deckchair on the beach, a rod in a holder nearby, a chillybin of food and cold beers at your feet, the warm sun in your face and the booming song of rolling surf.
All very relaxing. But hardly the way to catch fish. Surfcasting is best done on an overcast day with a bit of dirty weather scudding about, rain threatening and a light wind at your back. Sparkling sunlight tends to send the fish out deeper.
For beginners, there's not much point in just plonking down in the middle of the beach at high tide and hoping for the best. The beginner needs to be there an hour or two before low tide and needs to know how to read the sea.
First, try to find a high point from which you can spot the holes, rips and channels that are easier to see at low tide and where fish are likely to be feeding. These areas are often indicated by seabirds diving for baitfish, and where there are baitfish then the kahawai, trevally, snapper and kingfish may not be far away.
A rip funnelling water back out to sea from the beach with great force will scoop out a hole that can be spotted where waves break at a sandbar on the edge of it. The deeper water inside the sandbar will be darker and calmer.
Find two or three holes along the beach at low tide and you'll be able to see the channels that sweep along the beach between the holes, the edges of which are also usually marked by waves breaking on a sandbar or reef. The holes and especially the channels are prime spots for feeding fish. The deepest channels with the strongest currents are usually the best.
Paddle crabs, pilchards and shellfish baits such as mussels work well off beaches but they need to be fastened on with elastic bait thread (available from tackle shops). Squid is useful too and it stays on the hook longer in turbulent water. Strip baits are also favoured because they sway in the current like a small baitfish, and cubes of oily bonito send a tempting smell into the channel. A whole baitfish rigged so that it holds in the current can be a great temptation for a big snapper.
In the strongest channel currents, the fisher will need a breakout sinker, which has little spikes that grip the sand and hold the rig in place, and most beach fishers prefer a long trace, some up to 3m long, so that the bait will wave around in the current.
An alternative method is to use a ball sinker and allow the current to roll it along the channel while the angler walks along keeping pace with it. Some channels will run down a beach for several kilometres. This method can be very successful for targeting kahawai and trevally, which move rapidly down the channels while they feed. Look for birds working baitfish schools and you'll find the fish.
At this time of year schools of baitfish such as piper, pilchards and anchovies are on the move around the coastlines, and the snapper, kingfish, kahawai and trevally follow them in. Snapper prefer rocky coastlines penetrated by deep guts, broken reef and foul areas off beaches, and especially shellfish beds and areas inhabited by large populations of paddle crabs, where they'll come in at night to crunch and munch.
The best time for snapper close in is at dawn and dusk and after dark, but during the day they can be taken up till mid-morning. Kahawai, kingfish and trevally feed throughout the day.
When fishing the big shallow surf beaches where wading is necessary, a pair of neoprene chest waders makes life a lot more comfortable. They keep you warm and dry, and are a must in dirty weather. On the deeper beaches the fishable water is usually closer to shore where fishing is easier.
If using a surfcaster around the rocky coast, straylining is a useful method, with one large bait and a light ball sinker slid down the line so that it rests on the hook. Cast out and let it drift around.
New Zealand's coastline is a paradise for surf fishers. The choices are unlimited and many remote spots are rarely visited. When the world becomes too weary, try surfcasting.
