I have been surfcasting off the Wairarapa coast (Mataikona, Castlepoint area, not interested in fishing off the reef by the lighthouse) and all i seem to have caught is a truck load of red cod and the occasional medium size Kahawai.

I have used pilchards, squid and kahawai strips for bait and only seem to catch red cod (caught 14 of the rascals in one trip recently). I want to widen the variety of species i have the possibility to catch, I have heard of lemonshark/rig and gurnad being caught off the beach but i have never caught any of these species before so i wouldn't know what time to fish, what to look for or what to use as bait.

If anyone has any tips on how to catch theses species or any other species quite frankly the information would be greatly appreciated (not asking for secret spots etc).

Cheers.