Surfcasting - hints from an expert

Every sport has its National Championships, and for the sport of surfcasting the annual event is the New Zealand Angling and Casting Associations Nationals. This is hosted by a different club each year and held in the home area of the host. Last year that host was the Pania Surfcasting Club in Napier. They opened the coast from Mahia to Waimarama (just south of Cape Kidnappers) for the fishing days.

Conditions for the fishing event were testing, with swells up to four metres battering parts of the coast and no areas being flat at the time of the contest.

For this year's national competition, the host club was Ninety Mile Beach Surfcasting Club, and the allocated fishing areas encompassed all the best spots in the Far North. The southern boundary on the east coast was the entrance to Whangaroa Harbour and the southern boundary on the west coast was the entrance to Whangapae Harbour. All beaches, rocks and headlands right up to the most northern extremes of the island were included.

The Far North turned on great weather for contestants, and for a few days before the fishing started the Tasman Sea was flat, offering some fantastic surfcasting on the Ninety Mile Beach. Teams were seen up and down the beach during the days prior to the contest and some great fishing was experienced. Snapper were thick in the deepwater gutters and easily reached by the fishers on the beach. Our band of anglers from Napier caught eight snapper in a couple of hours in a channel just north of Hukutere. We marked it for a return visit during the fishing competition. Others were catching snapper the full length of the beach. A couple of other Pania Surfcasting Club members fished near Scott Point at the northern end of the beach and caught a bundle of snapper. A prospecting trip by another team proved that there were fish to catch on the east coast, too. They fished Tokerau Beach in Doubtless Bay for a haul of schoolie snapper to a couple of kilos. Others were at various beaches around the north and all the reports were good, but most anglers still seemed to be keeping an eye on the Ninety Mile Beach as this was the most likely place to catch big, high-quality snapper.

In the end, the weather excluded fishing on Ninety Mile Beach during the contest days for all but the hardiest of anglers. Big sweeper waves were rolling in and it was quite dangerous at times. That is typical of the west coast though, and it encouraging many to shift their attention to the east coast. Good catches were made, with snapper, trevally and kahawai predominating.

Rarawa and Henderson Beaches proved to be the best spots during the contest although locals in the know scored well further north too.

It is not just the fishing at the Nationals that makes it so enjoyable though. There is also the renewing of old acquaintances and being able to learn from one another during the time between the fishing and casting - a great reward for attending in itself. I spent time talking to the champion caster and he inspired me to aim for better results next year with a few simple hints. After attending two national championships, some of the faces are getting familiar and the contacts I have made mean that a visit to any part of the country during the year can be preceded by a phone call for some serious information on fishing conditions and hot spots.

The casting section of the national competition is something that all surfcasters should have a look at. If the nationals are in your area (Opotiki next year), then go along and watch. Study the techniques and you too may be able to cast 200 metres - with a lot of practice!

Make Plans

While the Nationals are the premier event for surfcasters each year, there are plenty of other competitions on during the summer months. There will be some in your area. Contests, such as the Ninety Mile Snapper Classic, draw contestants from around the country. They provide an excellent opportunity to have an enjoyable holiday and maybe win a lot of money at the same time. An element of luck is required to win overall, but good fishing skills, a bit of research and a staunch approach to the fishing could put you in the prize money. Each year, most of the winners luck-in to the biggest fish, but in the minor money you see the same names cropping up time and time again.

How should you plan your approach to a surfcasting competition?

Firstly you want to study the rules carefully. Go over them with someone else again and again. Are you allowed two rods? While the top prize may be for the heaviest snapper (which may be a long shot as often no snapper are caught in competitions), there may be good prizes available for more easily caught species such as kahawai and you may be better off to target them. In many competitions if no snapper are caught then the heaviest kahawai will take away the major money. If you are targeting kahawai then you may be in with a chance at the top prize as well as the kahawai section.

Work out strategies for your day's fishing. You may try for a snapper early in the day then change your attention to kahawai later. Conditions may dictate that only sharks are likely, so be ready for this. If conditions preclude the presence of the main species required to win, then don't waste your valuable time trying to catch fish that are not present. Try for the most likely species, even if they are only mentioned in the minor prizes.

Perseverance isn't everything

I remember fishing an overnight competition at Mohaka beach many moons ago. I don't remember what the prizes were, but I have never forgotten what happened: conditions were atrocious with big swells sweeping in from the south and the rain and wind were not far short of storm-force. Fishing was almost impossible. Any line cast out was back on the beach in a couple of minutes. Most of the few entrants (about fifty I think) had given up before nightfall. I was determined to fish through the night As more and more campfires lit up the carpark, I fished on, only taking time out for a cup of tea from my thermos. I cast and cast - and the elements threw my gear back in my face. However, I did find that an angled cast stayed out longer, particularly if I walked down the beach with it as it was washed back in. I was at least learning something, although I still hadn't had a bite by midnight. I was contemplating giving it up about then. There was just no reward for my perseverance. I thought I was the only one still fishing but then I saw a torch flash up the beach some distance away. It seemed I wasn't the only fisherman who didn't know any better than to fish these impossible conditions. A beginner, I guessed, hoping that luck would give up a fish.

Half an hour later my unknown companion stopped by, rod in hand and asked how I was getting on. My negative reply was greeted with a few words of encouragement. It sounded as though this guy actually expected to catch a fish. He disappeared off into the night, rod in hand and I fished on. I wasn't exactly revitalized but I felt better about trying against the odds.

When daylight arrived, a few hardy souls cast out into the washing machine-like turbulence of the Mohaka South. I hadn't even had a bite. I think one kahawai was caught before knock-off time. On the gantry were three fish, all spotted smooth hounds, lemonfish or rig, depending on where you come from. Where had they come from? Of course from the one man that fished through the night. That man recognised me after weigh-in and we talked about his catch. He had been using crayfish for bait and had fished his way down the entire area that was open to fishing during the contest.

I stood no chance of catching one on my trevally bait, although I quite likely put my bait in front of one during the night. Smoothies generally only eat crabs and crayfish baits, so my fish bait was almost useless. I appreciated his comments after the event and have often thought of this night when times get tough in a contest. The angler who scooped the pool that night, over thirty years ago, is still winning and getting places in surfcasting events nationwide.

His fishing, which was species specific once he saw the conditions, won the contest for him. My perseverance was of little help. I was short on the experience that would have given me a chance, but I did leave there with a lesson learned that would be of great importance over later years.

Do your homework

Do some homework on contest locations prior to the event. Look at maps and photos for any structure that may hold fish. Tourist-type brochures often have good photos of beaches. Get a tide table for the area and see when the tides fall. This could determine where you fish on a stretch of beach. Phone a local tackle shop and see if they have any bright ideas for you. Make sure you support them when you are in town though, or at least give them a ring and thank them if you take out a prize. Ask them about baits. Remember my crayfish story: you may have to source some before travelling to the contest. If you can, get into the area prior to contest day. Get a feeling for the conditions, fish through all the tide phases and try a few different spots. Try a variety of baits.

Prepare for a location

On the day before the contest, decide where you are going to fish. Don't change your mind about this. Focus on your choice and concentrate on preparing to fish that spot. You will now be able to tie up traces to suit and have the right sinkers for the likely conditions. By all means have a back-up plan, but make every effort to stick to your first choice.

Pack the car well in advance and have a written checklist for all your gear. The inconvenience of a forgotten rod stand will eat into your concentration. A forgotten tip-light will frustrate you when night fishing. A forgotten gaff could cost you thousands of dollars.

Prepare food and drinks for the day. Even the staunchest fishers need food and drink. It will help you stick to the job in hand. Fingerfood is the way to go. Sandwiches and wedges of cold pie that can be eaten on the run is far better than having to cook food or take time out to heat it up. You can give yourself another advantage by preparing baits at home and freezing them.

Don't forget warm clothing, waders or boots, rain gear, hats, sunscreen, a spare reel and rod, a spare rod stand, cell phone (to report success or check with your mate at the other end of the beach), sun umbrella, chilly bin, thermos, dry clothes, a few bucks for the raffle, torches, headlamp, lantern, tip-lights, spare sinkers - and anything else you can think of. In a popular contest on a restricted length of beach, you may not be able to move once you have chosen your spot, but at other times it will pay to be mobile. That is, you should be able to pick up all your gear in one go and shift position. Even a move of fifty-metres may put you onto the fish, so keep that in mind.

Don't hesitate to enter a contest - I can assure you that at the very least you will learn a lot from those fishing around you - if you are willing to watch, talk and listen. Give one a go this summer and you never know, you just may end up driving home in a new four-wheel-drive, or have very good reason to visit the bank next week!