I suppose most anglers are eagerly waiting the coming season, if you are like me you now have your gear in top order and a multitude of terminal rigs raring to go.

I am an avid follower of what is happening on the surf casting scene in Europe. In that part of the world they can't beat us at rugby but they are far and away superior when it comes to rigs and tackle. However, with the advent of the PC, and a veritable plethora of information on YouTube, at least in the rig making department we can hold our own.

When it comes to terminal rigs most serious anglers plumb for the sliding trace of the pulley pennel rig, over the years both have proved their worth. There is something odd in this because the pulley rig is mostly designed to handle larger fish, which oddly are very few and far between. To be brutally honest just how many large snapper, Kingfish or smooth hounds do you average a year?

Here I looked and researched the European scene, they have two large fish that can be caught from the beach, cod, which are not known for the fighting prowess and bass. Large bass will test your gear to the full as will a large snapper, the chances of catching a large bass (5kg plus) are about the same as catching a large snapper from the majority of beaches in New Zealand ... very slim.

So the European angler has adjusted their rigs to suit the size and variety of fish they are likely to catch from the shore, especially so in club matches and social angling. They do things differently and overall what they do works just fine.

Before I went to China I placed an order with Phil for some springs and tiny bait bait release clips for the three hook, clipped down flapper rig. This afternoon I put what I had learnt into practice and I have to say the concept and execution of this rig works brilliantly, now I wait for the weather Gods to smile and I will be heading for the beach.

Available from Phil.
Cascade Swivels.
Gemini Genie SRT Springs.

I suppose first of all it is necessary to work out the fish you are most likely to catch and rig accordingly. As 99% of fish taken from the beaches are of nominal size, is it sensible to target a double figure snapper when the chances are truly stacked against you? For those who have the patience they also have my admiration. I go fishing to catch fish, I am not fussy of the make and model, my target is not to blank.

I found it fascinating to watch a top match angler being interviewed. This man has many national competition wins to his name, his club achievements are up with the best and the part I like most, he thinks outside the square.

Can we learn from such a person? Well I would suggest ignore his advice at you peril. When the fishing is hard (sound familiar) he fishes a three hook rig, his reasoning most fish are shoal fish, when one finds a bait that fish is very likely to have company. He backs this statement with the information he will often wind in two, sometimes a full house of three fish.

He also offers the suggestion, he will watch the rod, see a take, and immediately walk away and have a cup of tea. He believes if baited properly with the hook point and barb exposed, that fish will hook itself and then with the fuss it's causing it will attract others to see what's going on ... hence double and triple hook ups.

One last hint he throws our way, there is no reason why, if you play a large fish properly, you shouldn't land it on a small hook. He qualified this by explaining the night before one of his customers had cleaned up a match landing four nice bass all taken on size 1 hooks, that is not 1/0, size 1. He used the old and well known expression, you can catch a large fish on a small hook, you can miss many smaller, very acceptable fish by using a too larger hook.

Of course to the diehards such an idea would be ridiculous, but to those who are relatively new to the sport and not having a great deal of success, it could be well worth a try.

One other pointer I have picked up is the number of European anglers who are now carrying a lighter carp rod along with their heavier surf gear. The whole idea of the much lighter rod is to have the baits in the area where the beach pebbles meet up with the sand. Once more there is a reason. After a blow a lot of shell fish have been dislodged and when they hit the stones they are smashed by the breaking waves. It is common sense to have a few baits in this area because the fish are very aware with broken shellfish there is a ready feed to be had.

With the heavy emphasis now placed on distance casting the idea of fishing really really short is almost alien, yet if you think about it and look at the number of empty shells on the beach, the evidence is there to be seen. Does it work? Why do you think the importance of a second rod cast very short is really taking off and paying dividends?