For those who do a bit of surfcasting

**98tls** · 31st October 2012, 11:44

Happy to announce the Elephant fish have arrived

A little early for down here but with the Mrs doing nightshift i cant be clattering around in the shed so thought i would try my luck early this morning,hardly great white hunter stuff but a good feed,most underated fish out there i believe.Very tasty tea tonight.

**ellipsis** · 31st October 2012, 11:50

...yip, they are a real good cooking if not good looking fish...and rod benders too...haven't bent a rod down the beach for a long time...more of a redfin in the river fan...they are a beautiful eating fish...

**98tls** · 31st October 2012, 11:57

Originally Posted by ellipsis

...yip, they are a real good cooking if not good looking fish...and rod benders too...haven't bent a rod down the beach for a long time...more of a redfin in the river fan...they are a beautiful eating fish...

If theres any failings fishing for them is they dont fight at all i reckon,with this one just 2 big bends in the rod then that was it,it wasnt that well hooked and if it had struggled i believe it would have got off,there a fair weight.Strange really its like they just go "its going to be a bad day" and do nothing.

**ellipsis** · 31st October 2012, 12:11

...prehistoric type of shark aren't they...they have certainly come a long way being laid back about it all...

**98tls** · 31st October 2012, 12:17

Originally Posted by ellipsis

...prehistoric type of shark aren't they...they have certainly come a long way being laid back about it all...

Indeed.No idea what the wee trunk does eh.

**Paul in NZ** · 31st October 2012, 12:19

Good catch. I took a rod down to the beach last night because it was so darn nice and gave it a good lash. Caught a nice stick... 2 more and I'll have a bush...

Its still early days here before the snapper arrive and to be fair the ocean around where we were fishing is a vast sandy plain with no structure to hold fish. Its very hit and miss (mostly miss for me). For all that we enjoyed a nice evening watching the sun set over the south island and the grandsons enjoyed a splash - not all bad really.

In a few weeks I'll get the kayak out and score some dinner....

**98tls** · 31st October 2012, 12:24

Originally Posted by Paul in NZ

Good catch. I took a rod down to the beach last night because it was so darn nice and gave it a good lash. Caught a nice stick... 2 more and I'll have a bush...

Its still early days here before the snapper arrive and to be fair the ocean around where we were fishing is a vast sandy plain with no structure to hold fish. Its very hit and miss (mostly miss for me). For all that we enjoyed a nice evening watching the sun set over the south island and the grandsons enjoyed a splash - not all bad really.

In a few weeks I'll get the kayak out and score some dinner....

Always pondered that ie the Kayak thing,how far out do you go in one and is there much hassle go in /coming out?Guess its just about picking the right day eh?

**Paul in NZ** · 31st October 2012, 14:18

Originally Posted by 98tls

Always pondered that ie the Kayak thing,how far out do you go in one and is there much hassle go in /coming out?Guess its just about picking the right day eh?

Go as far as you like really but we find for a feed not going too far is the trick. ie the zone well beyond the surf casters but before where the boats go. Caught a good feed in 5m to 20m usually.

Getting back (and out) can be bothersome but its just a part of the adventure. If you can ride a motorcycle you can learn to ride a wave... (he says spluttering with sand in his undies and weed in his teeth) Trick is never take anything on the kayak you are not afraid to loose or get wet.

**98tls** · 31st October 2012, 14:22

Originally Posted by Paul in NZ

Go as far as you like really but we find for a feed not going too far is the trick. ie the zone well beyond the surf casters but before where the boats go. Caught a good feed in 5m to 20m usually.

Getting back (and out) can be bothersome but its just a part of the adventure. If you can ride a motorcycle you can learn to ride a wave... (he says spluttering with sand in his undies and weed in his teeth) Trick is never take anything on the kayak you are not afraid to loose or get wet.

Cheers,sounds great.What length of kayak are we talking?

**Paul in NZ** · 31st October 2012, 14:49

Originally Posted by 98tls

Cheers,sounds great.What length of kayak are we talking?

It varies depending on budget and conditions of use. I use a very old one modified for fishing but we do a lot of surf landings and i don't go far so its quite short. Others use 4.7m monsters...

**george formby** · 31st October 2012, 15:07

Kayak fishing rocks!!! I used to use a Scupper Pro, 14 ft IIR. Length = speed . Sit on, not in, stable, I used it for spear fishing too, climbing in & out. You can go berserk on farkles but I just screwed a big tupperware tub into the middle of it for tackle with a catch on the lid. I used lanyards for my rod & paddle, you will roll.
I started out bait fishing then progressed to soft baits, as good if not better & much less faff.
A hand net or tailer helps with the big uns.
Fishing off a surf beach is ok up to about 1.5 mtr waves. You get wet heading out & when you come back in paddle the kayak sideways onto the face of a wave otherwise you can plough the nose in & flip, you come in like a log, leaning into the wave on your paddle, no dramas, just like backing a bike in... The best fishing is often just behind the breakers, the bottom is getting churned up but it's not too violent for the fish to feed. Best conditions are the wind blowing along the beach, you cover a lot of ground & find a lot of schools of fish. Paint weights white if your bait fishing & use a long trace. Bounce the weight off the bottom to send up a puff sand, it imitates a baby flounder, particularly those homemade "spoon" weights. Do the same thing with soft baits, that wee puff of sand is a great trigger.
A mate recently caught a 25ib snapper (est) off his kayak on a soft bait. Not sure if he has loaded the vid onto youtube yet. It's a bloody good fish!

**98tls** · 31st October 2012, 15:12

Interesting stuff fellas,cheers.Will bide my time wait for the right moment and inform the other 1/2 of the wallet that we need a kayak.

**Laava** · 31st October 2012, 15:41

+1 on the Scupper Pro!

**Paul in NZ** · 31st October 2012, 16:56

Scupper pro... I had one for YEARS and caught my 1st fish from one... Still a very fast kayak for a sot but primary stability is a bit weak if you are not used to kayaks. I use my old Scrambler XT which is an utter barge but battleship stable.

I sold the Scupper to fund a new yak for vicki for fishing as it was too wobbly for her and the scrambler is too wide for her. She is using a modified cobra explorer now (i think).. I missed my scupper pro though.... so i scored a wee surf yak for fun....