Gary, if the bait you were using is that old you should upgrade to something a little fresher.

Rex, this tip has really worked well for me. I have mentioned before I like the far lighter material used to make European hooks than the NZ heavy variety. Of course the likes of Black Magic will hold up far better against larger fish but when it's only red cod, gurnard or kahawai, then the lighter material is ideal.

The tip I picked up from a UK fishing site is to offset the hook from the bend to the tip, probably no more than 2 to 3mm. The match angler advising this small offset then suggested you try to pull the hook between two fingers held loosely together: it's impossible without hooking up. What was being shown was this makes the odds of the fish actually hooking itself far more in the angler's favour.

Whether right or not is a matter of personal perspective and belief but he suggested more fish are lost by anglers picking up the rod and tightening the line at the first sign of a take. This guy fishes for his country and is highly respected, his method is to identify a take and then totally ignore it. He gave the idea that in many cases fish feed in numbers, certainly true of red cod and gurnard. His tip was by leaving the rod alone the fish will hook itself. I use the offset hook and this is quite correct, but he went on to say the fish on the hook may well attract another fish to the other bait if using a two hook rig.

When fishing from rocks or in a boat, many times I have hooked a fish and when bringing it to the surface I have watched others follow it up as if they were missing out on something. I'm confident others will say they have witnessed the same happening.

I believe those tips from a top surf angler are worthy of consideration and a trial on a couple of visits to the beach.