Thread: Manawatu surfcasting tips

Hey guys, ive prob been surf casting 15time in the last year , and not a single fish caught,. ive fished ant tangimoana, foxton and scotts ferry. I use and old surfcaster- new nylon, have tried flasher rigs, normal hooks, pichards,mussles and squid for bait. Im no gud at finding holes so i just cast out into the sea and wait. Do i need a better rod to cast further?? i use the sand grapple type sinkers to.

Am also heading to hawkes bay around easter, anyone no of any good beaches to fish up there?

Cheers guys

Maybe try some Bonito bait ,I can't catch fish with that other shit either .
2 Hrs before - 2 hrs after high tide. Some green cotton to tie the bait on would be smart.

I have not done much since moving to the South Island but when I was up north this is what I had good sucess with.

A rod with a good backbone, a 2 piece is stiffer than a 3 piece in general, I used a custom built 1 piece in the end.

A rod matched to the weight your casting, I always liked using 6oz sand grabbers so picked a rod to suit.

A reel that worked and had nice smooth drag, it also needed to hold 300m of line.

I used 8lb main line with a shock leader, the shock leader was long enough to have 2 rounds on the reel and for my casting I layed out about 5 meters on the ground behind. This would get me casting between 120 and 150 meters with 1 bait on a ledger rig. I've caught 5kg snapper up 90 mile and a 10kg ray along with a 8ft bronzey. All on 8lb main line.

If I was targeting Kahawai I'd use a whole pilli on a running rig, use bait cotton to hold it together.

Light main line increases casting distance, shock leader stops you breaking the main line under load.

Finding holes can be hard it the sea is flat, your better to look when there is a bit of a role on, watch the waves, watch were they break, look for gaps in the waves where the water is deeper. Waves are formed as the water gets shallow so if there is a gap in the waves, thats were Id start.

When I was serious and before I could cast the distance I put a wetsuit on and walked out as far I could to cast.

Practice casting up the beach, the last year I was up there I went to the national surfcasting comp, that year the distance cast that won was 210 meters (sinker only .3mm line min which was 6lb)

Keep at it, you will get better

Pm sent.

The river mouth out at Foxton has been a bit hit and miss the past couple of months for decent size fish but there is always something around that keeps it interesting. I normally head out on the Foxton side of the river about 200 m short of the mouth and bung the line straight out as far as I can get it. Obviously first and last light yield the best results, but dead low or hour ever side of high goes pretty good. I use half pillies on a running rig tied on with bait cotton, change baits every 20min or so as there are a heap of smaller bait fish about. Busy at work at the moment but normally head out every wed afternoon. There has been a few rather large Kahawai heads left in the same spot recently so someone is doing well...

Originally Posted by crzyman

the last year I was up there I went to the national surfcasting comp

Which club were you with?
Nationals is this coming week, I think I'm sorted....

I was in Morrinsville and the nationals that year was up 90 mile beach. Thats alot of years ago, maybe 13 ish years

Originally Posted by crzyman

I was in Morrinsville and the nationals that year was up 90 mile beach. Thats alot of years ago, maybe 13 ish years

Didn't go to those nationals but have been to just about everyone since.