Big reds, giant trev - Far North softbait heaven

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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote The Tamure Kid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2020 at 7:36pm
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Sure did. I honestly thought it was a kingie.

I luckily hooked it on my 'heavy' set with a Penn Slammer that I put Tasline 20lb (PE 1.7) on from Kaveman. The spool said it breaks at an average of 34lb. It still casts and sinks really well (quite thin for the rating) and gives me more confidence when in rough country. 

The other reel I used on the trip - a Shimano Stradic - has Varivas PE1 which breaks at "max 20lb" and "average 18lb" on it. i got a kingie on softbait on that last year, so trust that braid over open ground for sure. 

I normally use 16lb fluorocarbon leader around the Waitemata etc, but up it to 20lb for rocky areas and where I'm hoping for a bigger fish. 

Also, I reckon I would have probably lost a couple of the bigger snaps on this trip if I hadn't been using a Mustad Fastach clip - they really wolfed down the softbaits and all that was protruding through their teeth was the clip. A Rapala loop knot would have been right in the danger zone.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Motorhead Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Jun 2020 at 9:12pm
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Originally posted by The Tamure Kid The Tamure Kid wrote:

Sure did. I honestly thought it was a kingie.

I luckily hooked it on my 'heavy' set with a Penn Slammer that I put Tasline 20lb (PE 1.7) on from Kaveman. The spool said it breaks at an average of 34lb. It still casts and sinks really well (quite thin for the rating) and gives me more confidence when in rough country. 

The other reel I used on the trip - a Shimano Stradic - has Varivas PE1 which breaks at "max 20lb" and "average 18lb" on it. i got a kingie on softbait on that last year, so trust that braid over open ground for sure. 

I normally use 16lb fluorocarbon leader around the Waitemata etc, but up it to 20lb for rocky areas and where I'm hoping for a bigger fish. 

Also, I reckon I would have probably lost a couple of the bigger snaps on this trip if I hadn't been using a Mustad Fastach clip - they really wolfed down the softbaits and all that was protruding through their teeth was the clip. A Rapala loop knot would have been right in the danger zone.

I need to get a spool filled with higher rated braid than what I currently use over the sand.
Have hooked large fish following weed lines softbaiting only to be unable to stop them reaching the foul.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote kaveman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 Jun 2020 at 7:14am
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Great writeup Lester. Trip to remember for sure. Well done mate Thumbs Up
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Snotrag Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2020 at 12:37pm
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Cool Story mate. Heading up to doubtless next week for 3 weeks of fishing and this story got me excited :)

3 loooong days of work to go!!!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote The Tamure Kid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2020 at 2:48pm
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Cheers for the comment. Three weeks! Lucky bugger. 

There's so much good looking coastline on the Doubtless side, up the Karikari and also around from Mangonui towards Whangaroa. Most of the weather was coming from the east or north east when I was up there, so I didn't seriously consider fishing that side. But I've always wanted to explore it.

You'll have some awesome fishing, I'm sure. Good luck. Look forward to a report.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote JW Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2020 at 5:52pm
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Just got to this. Great stuff Lester, well done. That huge trevally would have been fun. Calico candy :)
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote The Tamure Kid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2020 at 7:15pm
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Originally posted by JW JW wrote:

Just got to this. Great stuff Lester, well done. That huge trevally would have been fun. Calico candy :)

Haha, yip I remembered your success with the Calico colour Jonathan and decided to give the big 8" paddle tail a bash - bingo! Two great fish in two drifts. No idea what they took it for in 18-20m, maybe a squid flicking up over the kelp etc? But that orangey red seems to be one of those colours, like Motor Oil, that looks average to the human eye, but transforms in the water.

It's great to see on Facebook that Northside Adventures is back up and running. Looks like your customers are having some great catches, mate.  I hope to be in a position to sign up for a trip one of these days.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Snotrag Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jun 2020 at 5:54am
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Thanks mate, I'll def do some reports. I'd like to think in 3 weeks I'll have some stories to tell!!
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Perchase Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jun 2020 at 4:12pm
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Great report, looking forward to the fishing news edition! I was interested to see all the horses caught on larger soft baits, wondering if you had a crack with smaller,4-5 inch ones but the big ones got the best fish?
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote The Tamure Kid Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jun 2020 at 7:11pm
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Originally posted by Perchase Perchase wrote:

Great report, looking forward to the fishing news edition! I was interested to see all the horses caught on larger soft baits, wondering if you had a crack with smaller,4-5 inch ones but the big ones got the best fish?

Thanks for that. 
yes, I was surprised that I got the big trev on a 6.5" Nemesis, as the previous ones I got up north have been on the 5" Gulp Crazy Legs or Z Man 5" (mostly in natural colours). I have read they  normally prefer smaller lures.

On this trip my mate and I mostly used 5" Z Mans (curly tail and shad) and the Gulp 5" Crazy legs in the harbour and out in the bay over sand, and we got plenty of pannies on those sizes. I think they are more representative of the stuff they feed on in those areas, and more suitable for the average size of the fish. I occasionally put on a Gulp 6" grub or the Nemesis to mix things up and see if there was a bigger model around - and fortuitously that's what connected with the big trev.

But I fished 7" Z Mans almost exclusively around the rocky islands and coastline, hoping for a big snapper or a stray kingie. And as an experiment put on the big Magswimz after reading the thread in the softbait forum where someone recommended it. And it worked a treat in those conditions. Wouldn't bother with it in my local Waitemata areas, though, other than trying for a marker pole kingie.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Johnny Watson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 21 Jun 2020 at 9:32am
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Congrats on the PB Trevally Lester. You know it's a trophy when its longer than a legal King! No doubt it scrapped like a demon.

A really enjoyable trip by the sounds, a great report to read, and gets me looking forward to a far north adventure late Summer/Autumn next year.
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