In an earlier article I wrote about the value of paddle crabs as bait, including how effective they can be on elephantfish. Since that time, there has been an excellent run of elephants in Wellington waters. Although more and more elephants seem to be turning up, they are rarely present or caught in numbers, so this season has truly been one out of the box. It has enabled me and my mates to dial in to this magnificent fish and learn how to catch them, mostly in Wellington Harbour and from the open beaches of southern Wairarapa, with the odd straggler turning up elsewhere.

Because of their relative scarcity, a targeted and persistent approach is required. Surfcasters generally enjoy some success in Worser Bay and Evans Bay on specimens weighing less than 5kg, but what has made this season interesting is the abundance of large fish (5- 8kg) on Wairarapa’s south coast.

Regular trips to this area in November turned up a dozen elephants between five and seven kilos for my fishing mate Tony Stenhouse and me. It had been a while since my last elephantfish catch from the shore, and this rate of success was considerably better than I’d had in the past. So, with a reasonable sample size, a few tricks and tactics were able to be refined, as I will explain. The modern day bush telegraph (aka Facebook) alerted us to some good elephant catches initially, so we tooled up and hit the coast every weekend the weather permitted.

Drawing together some intel’ from local boat fishermen and my good mate Toby Wilkes (a South Island west coast elephant fisher extraordinaire), I took a clear game plan to the beach. This proved a very useful starting point and ensured some early success that got me underway.

I wouldn’t describe myself as an elephant expert (South Island surfcasters with their fantastic elephant fishery must know a thing or two!), but I have learned some fundamentals which may prove useful to aspiring elephant hunters.

Bait

As mentioned, paddle crab is a superb elephant bait, but elephants will take just about anything so long as it’s fresh. Squid and crayfish are also effective, but may attract other non -target species, which can reduce the amount of time you’re effectively fishing for elephants.

Habits

South Wairarapa beaches are steep, gravelly and deep, similar to many of the Canterbury beaches where elephants are abundant. On these beaches elephants seem to run parallel to the beach just beyond the breakers – further out than moki, but not much further – so there’s no need to cast for the horizon.

The other trend I noticed was that they bite hardest almost smack on low tide (on the beaches I fish, anyway), when there wouldn’t have been much current running. Bites also correlated closely with change -of-light periods (dawn and dusk). Compared to other species, bites were tightly grouped around these times (other species will bite for a longer period of time either side). They also don’t seem too concerned about schooling amongst spotty sharks. Whether the two species deliberately move around together, I’m not sure, but clearly they tolerate one another. Quite often our elephant captures were immediately followed by spotty shark benders. Toby informs me that on the South Island’s west coast you tend to catch one elephant for about every five spotty sharks (when using paddle crab baits). My recent experience in the Wairarapa suggests the ratio might be more like 1:10 or 1:20 there. This requires persistence to work through.

Managing the fight

Elephants taste pretty good, look amazing, and fight like cornered tigers! Fish of the size we encountered put a serious bend in a surf rod and will pull line against a heavy drag. Pound for pound they wouldn’t be far behind spotty sharks, if at all, and that’s really saying something. Bearing in mind the reality that you will probably catch several other fish for every elephant, it pays to recognise the way they behave on the line, as this will help you to stay focused before seeing the fish.

The fight is different to the way spotty sharks behave, but only subtly for 90% of the fight. Where spotty sharks go on smooth, scything runs, elephantfish provide a jerkier fight and sit up higher in the water column (spotty sharks hug the bottom). Possessing a boxy shape, elephants are also more difficult to pull through the surf when they get side on. However, the elephant’s signature is the spectacular leaping it does in shallow water. To truly appreciate it, you need to see it with your own eyes.

Rigs and bait presentation

My impression is that elephants are shy biters. Using their unusual ‘trunk’ they forage around on the bottom and, like some other species, I believe they ‘flop’ on their prey (crabs, small fish etc.) before downing the food and moving off.

To the surfcaster this can appear as a jerk on the rod, followed by a period of inactivity before the fish moves off (at which point the rod may double over).

Given their shy tendencies, I used fairly light 20lb fluorocarbon traces and 3/0 hooks. I also tie long, single-strand droppers, which help baits ‘feel natural’ to feeding fish. I usually use a subtle lumo tube or skirt (or both) to provide some visual interest as well.

Again, because of their shy biting habits, I will set only a light bend on my rod (against a breakout sinker) to reduce tension on the line. Winding up too tight can turn your mainline into a guitar string, which is a high stakes game because the hook will either stick hard or won’t stick at all. As I prefer to fish in slight seas, this technique works well for me, but because the rod’s bend is subtle, you need to watch more closely to discern when the line has gone slack. In these circumstances I use 6kg mainline, as this also reduces the amount of drag and tension on the bait.

Conditions and season

My best luck has come in clear water with only a slight swell running, but that is only my experience. In Wellington the main elephant season (if I can call it that) seems to run from October to December, though they are present in Wellington Harbour for longer. The South Island elephant fisheries (certainly the healthiest) appear to produce fish for surfcasters primarily in spring, but summer and autumn are okay, too. I have also heard stories of prolific winter surfcasting around the Haast area (south Westland).

In closing, elephants are a fantastic surf species, but are only now earning the reputation they deserve. They tick a few boxes, being tasty, good looking (in a weird kind of way) and tough fighters, so I can see why they are highly valued, particularly by South Island surfcasters.

For quite some time I’d been thinking about getting out and catching some elephants, and was starting to make plans for a southern sortie to get my fix , but with the opportunities presented locally this season, I didn’t have to leave my home waters. Some things are just meant to be!

	March - 2016 - Andy Macleod New Zealand Fishing News Magazine. Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd. Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited