An insane late morning off the sand - solid Snaps

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    Posted: 19 Nov 2019 at 5:36pm
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An epic late morning surfcast sesh of the sand in the north

One thing I look forward to while on my far north trip is fishing one of my fav spots off the sand, it's a spot that can be very quiet or just crash hot and off the hook. It's a nice little hole in the Harbour not to far from the waters edge, we try to time it so that the low is through the dark. Early mornings have always worked the best for me, more so it's when it's easier to cast into the hole.

Over the years Stevo and I have caught some solid fish at this spot to 15lb which 90% get released strong and healthy, it's such a pristine coast line with crystal clear waters. When timed right we wake at 4am each morning and 10mins later we have our first baits out and most times it doesn't take long before rods are bending and reels are screaming.

This time the tides were opposite, high was around 7.00 giving us a low tide around 1.00, so the surfcasting wasn't looking to good for us. We never fish during the day as after trying a couple of times with not one bite we just fish it while dark, but with that onshore 15-20knt wind the water would be stirred up and we even had overcast conditions so I just had this urge to go give our surfcast spot a shot.

Making our way around the tide was already going out which I liked, this was going to get us closer to the hole we cast into. It was nice and choppy and although it was going to be a little uncomfortable it looked fishy even though it was day time. That's the thing with fishing you just never know and really there are no rules so it's always worth a shot when conditions suite. I was hoping for some better fish to really put a bend in the new Okuma matrix rod and some strain on the Trio salt reel this time, if a place is going to do it it is here as a nice 5-10lb snap in a strong current will really test them.

I like to run a running rig here with a breakaway, using braid can be a little hard but I now use 2 traces. One is about half a mtr long which allows my sinker to run up and down between the swivels then the other trace is my standard that holds the hooks. I like to use a keeper here, there's lots of current so you have to run a tight line and the sinker doesn't have a lot of room to run. Most times when the fish are here you will know all about it by the huge strikes you get where the rod will bend over and stay bent with line peeling, even when striking the rod doesn't straighten it stays bent right through the strike and run.

Every time I fish this spot my hart is in my mouth and my expectations are very high, it's an amazing and beautiful place to fish and to pull 5-15lb snapper here it's pretty cool to see them coming up through the crystal clear water. Setting up we flicked out our first baits, the wind was blowing straight in our face so I parked the car right at the rods for a bit of shelter and a seat if needed. I wanted to give it a good go before giving up even if it meant sitting in the car for an hour.

Another problem with this area is the weed that rides the tide in and out constantly, there were big clumps behind us but it was looking not to bad along the shoreline so I was hoping it wasn't going to be an issue. The main way I do combat it is I find most time the weed is collected on the surface and it doesn't end up at your sinker and hook until winding in, once I cast I just leave it alone until I get a bite or after say 20mins with no bites I may wind up and cast again.

The wind was pretty strong so after casting we sat in the car hoping for a strike, after 10mins my hart had sunk knowing that the day time fishing we have tried many times with no joy is just how it is here. A couple more mins in and we had our first strike but missed it, was it a snapper and if it was it seemed to be a solid fish with the rod bent like that. The strikes started to come on and we missed a couple more but it was telling me we were maybe on a hot outgoing tide bite. I baited up again and flicked out into the head on wind, it didn't matter to much now that the hole was with in mtrs from us - a 20-30mtr cast put us smack in the middle of it.

Putting the rod in the holder I stayed with it this time and with a couple of twitches of the tip I grabbed the rod and stood at the ready, the strikes you get here are pretty insane and at an instance my new rod was buckled over I was hooked up and hooked up to a nice fish. The new Okuma combo was awesome and made it a breeze to work the fish, it was a good fish at around 65cm a real good fish for off the sand but that's what this spot can produce. Even though the wind was strong I couldn't feel anything but the rush of catching a nice fish, it looked like the fish were defiantly here.

I quickly baited up to get another bait out there while the fish were here, putting the rod in the holder and setting the drag it buckled over and I quickly grabbed it and struck. I was hooked up again, the bite was getting absolutely hectic - man it was insane. It was another solid fish and and great fun on the new combo alright, it even pulled a bit of string, Steve jumped out of the car as he had yet to have a strike. He was running a dropper rig which didn't seem so popular, we like to run two different rigs in case one works better than the other. Sliding it up into the shallows it was another good fish around that 65-70cm, Stevo was taking a pic then all we could hear was his reel screaming - he was hooked up at last. Stevo's fish wasn't as big but at least he was on the board and it was still a cool little battle being about 45cm.

We both cast'd out some fresh baits and waited for more hits, Stevo needed to stand at the ready more but the wind seemed to push him back to the car. When the bite is hot like this you may only get 30mins maybe a little more but it can stop as quick as it starts and you really have to take advantage. I was hooked up again, it didn't feel as big this time but so far all these fish were way over the size limit and this one although small still went about 45cm. It was just going off!!!

My next bait out once again I stood ready - hits out of the blue are so awesome, your just standing there and with out warning no nibbles no nothing the line goes instantly tight with the rod bending. This is what happened next and it was over in a second, I got a huge hit and although I run a lose-ish drag winding in I could tell it was a solid Snapper that bit right on the knot at the hook and with my strike at the same time she just gave way. I was gutted but that's fishing and that's what makes you flick out another bait or come back again.

I geared up again and flicking out a new bait I was hooked up again, with us fishing in this hole there is a little lip where sometimes our line and sinker digs in and we have to drag the fish up over it and this time I pulled the hook. Stevo was pretty quite with just a couple of nibbles to. The tide was just about low and the bites had slowed, but every now and then we would just get a huge strike. I managed a little Kahawai so it gave us some fresh baits, a little late but it would stay on the line longer if we missed a strike.

Stevo got smashed on his first fresh bait and it was a solid fish but it wasn't meant to be as it let go mid fight - he was guttered as it looked like a solid double fig fish to. the tide had turned and our mayhem turned into sitting in the car once again so we called it a morning and what a morning it was. We manged to release all the fish but one that had swallowed the hook, this makes my special day even more so to be able to watch some of these solid fish swim away - they are in spawning at the moment so we try to release what we can and what's not needed.

Another awesome fishing sesh with a mate in the magical far north - can't ask for much more than that....

Tight lines


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote laidbackdood Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 23 Nov 2019 at 11:58pm
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what a fantastic report !....i felt like i lived every second of that.....Good stuff.....Long may that enjoyment continue and with people like you fishing it.....it willClap ...stunning vid with cool music too.Wink
Once the idiots turn up..Im outta here...No time for Drama Queens.
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