That would be very difficult to analyse and I am not even sure where to start. Can I kick of with the light gear.

Over the course of a year just how many big fish does the average surfcaster hook up with, here I am excluding rock hoppers. In truth I believe some would answer less than ten but most would answer less than five, some would say one ... with luck.

So why the need for all the heavy gear? Do anglers use it just for the one in a hundred chance they hook a reasonable fish, especially when the chances are that will be an unwanted ray. I will add to that by saying the largest ray I have caught locally was taken just the other side of the Clifton boat launch ramp. It was taken on 4 kilo line and when weighed on the boat club scales, it hit 64lbs, the fish was returned a little wiser but unharmed. So even with light gear it's not impossible to land big fish.

By far the majority of the fish we catch are nice fish, but small. A light rod will allow you to feel the fight of a gurnard, even a Kahawhai will give you a really good workout, at times even taking line from the reel. It gives me great satisfaction when I have got the most out of the fish I have hooked. There are many rods around now that are of very solid construction but just how often is all that power required?

With gurnard they are a fish that loves to scour the seabed looking for its tucker. Very often when you open them up you will find several very small crabs in the stomach pouch. Rex, I am confident you will have noticed that also ... well here's a thought and it may upset some of the regular posters on this site.

If you want to catch gurnard, why are you putting flotation devices on your traces that lift the bait as much as 60cms to a metre above the seabed where the fish are feeding? On occasions a gurnard will be caught with a floating trace, however, I suggest your chances will increase ten fold by having your bait firmly on the sea bed where the gurnard is looking for its next meal. At present crabs seem to be few and far between so there is no reason to have the bait suspended.

One last thought, and this is something I have found a help. When last in the UK I purchased several packets of English fish hooks. These are known as fine wire hooks, they are wide gape and really help with bait presentation as they leave the point and barb well exposed to hook the fish. I find about 90% of my fish have actually hooked themself, I have also noticed in the last few trips I have had many slack line bites. This is where the fish has hooked itself and swam toward the beach.

One last thing, and this is personal, I don't like BOS and never use them unless it's absolutely necessary. Others swear by them and there is no definitive right or wrong. I have no issues when the end gear goes walkabout, quite often this has lead to success where a stationary bait has caught nothing.

I guess that's the best I can do Rex, other than to say I have now changed to nylon leaders, but only using 3oz sinkers this is only 30lb BS. I do use beads on the trace, also a 40mm length of pink fluoro tubing, red beads on one rod, yellow on the other all held in place by a small piece of double inverted tubing. I would be happy to put a picture on here if you believe it may help.