Spent three hours at TeAwanga this morning, first light onwards. Water full of weed and crabs onto the bait moment it hit the bottom.
Using three rods cast to various distances. No takes that I noticed although I had a hook bitten off and what remained of the trace was serrated by sharp teeth.
Been following the thoughts of a top match angler from the UK. He said he was rapidly coming to the conclusion anglers are getting bogged down with the amount of clips, swivels excess bling and other attachments they are now encouraged to pursue. With the amount of weed I had catching up on necessary bits and pieces for a pulley rig and release clip I think he may be right. This man is incredibly successful, including being the winner of the European sea angling championship and many UK beach fishing matches and has represented his country.
He attributes his latest success to using the simple wishbone rig. This puts two baits, usually different, side by side. His theory being if a fish strips one bait he still stands a good chance of hooking it on the other, which is only 20 centimetres away.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by tomdaniel on 23/12/2014, 8:20 am, in reply to "TeAwanga."
Yeah hangler,I think your right,the only extras I use now are the splash downs on the pully rigs, or the ledger rig,which still puts two baits in the water,normally have a short trace on the bottom,for the crabs and a longer one on the top waiting for a decent fish before the crabs get it.
Safe fishing all Merry xmas Tom
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Rex HB on 23/12/2014, 9:04 am, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
Some of the most successful fishers I know dont use much bling at all. They like being stealthy, even going for dark floats or clear ones to fool the fish. I think it depends on what your chasing.I cant see any reason not to use bling that inspires a bit of movement for some fish.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 23/12/2014, 9:33 am, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
I can't see anything wrong with a few attractor beads, a few years back I changed from brightly coloured beads to imitation pearls, these worked quite well. This was a highly successful way of fishing for flatfish in the UK.
I believe what this match man was trying to put over was the excess of swivels, clips and other, what he described as, 'totally unnecessary scaffolding'.
I have got into the bad habit of automatically using breakout sinkers, a plainly silly idea. This morning with the weed problem these sinkers were a bloody nuisance. I switched to the same weight scud sinker and not only did this really cut down on the weed I was winding to shore, the weights held the bottom perfectly.
I believe sometimes you need to think outside the square and return to what were once considered simple basics. When I used a torpedo from local beaches I had reasonable success. Then one day I got low on bait and fortunately, on a previous set, I had landed a trevalli. Now 40 years ago that was a premium surfcasting bait. I set the torpedo using that fish for bait, very successfully I might add. Up until I sold the torpedo I used trevalli all the time.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by GaryK on 27/12/2014, 11:03 am, in reply to "TeAwanga."
Sure you were in the right place at TeAwanga Hangler? It sounds like you may have been off the reef where the tope play.The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 27/12/2014, 7:26 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
That is what it said on the sign post. Just a few hundred metres past Four Square, we parked and fished at the camping ground.
Any number of fish could have bitten through the trace, whatever it was had shredded the line so I am more inclined to think a coutta or a spiny back. Didn't see the bite so it's all conjecture.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 5/1/2015, 6:12 pm, in reply to "TeAwanga."
Never one to give up I had another session at TeAwanga this evening. Perfect conditions, a small chop, plenty of movement but no need for grip leads. The sea had a good colour but once again the crabs were on the bait the moment it hit the seabed.
Just an hour before high water a bit of weed showed up but as far as fish or even bites were concerned ... zilch. This was using three rods with anchovy baits on two of them and a lovely strip of fresh squid skirt on the third, the crabs were in their heaven.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by hbsurfcasttonz on 5/1/2015, 9:04 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
I was out at Clifton tonight the rays where out in force got 3 nice size ones that put up a great fight and one fat kahawai keep trying I normally have quite a bit of luck out te Awanga but when it's bad it's very bad I feel
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 6/1/2015, 6:54 am, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
When you fish Clifton, are you going through the camp and the boat ramp? I haven't fished Clifton for many years and once they started charging to gain access to a public beach I got somewhat annoyed.
The ray fishing was simply brilliant, my best was 64 lbs on 9 lb line, a memorable fight.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by hbsurfcasttonz on 6/1/2015, 10:21 am, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
Wow nice ray! I just pay the $1 to go through and fish by the reef it all helps to keep the camp open and in turn the road so I'm not too bothered. My favorite rays to catch are eagle rays lover the jumps they do and also the fight for a small ray it's cool. Was going out to try for a late big snapper but wasn't the case
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 6/1/2015, 1:21 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
Thanks for sharing. I am not a fan of anglers who fish spot X, I like to share my sport, sometimes it's good news but lately, most times it's been bad.
I know the spot you mean. It can be a little expensive on end gear but very rewarding when you slide a ray onto the beach. Yes it is exciting when a ray decides to take evasive action by getting airborne but this all adds to the fun of surfcasting.
I have yet to try it but I am reliably informed a small eagle ray (under ten kilos) if the fish is immediately killed and the wings are removed quickly to stop ammonia contamination, these can make very good eating. I have an Asian lady I will be marrying in three week's time, no doubt she will know if this is right or not.
Nearly all the fish we have eaten since we have been together - she has flaked, simple with a ray. Juan (her name) then lets the flakes have a bathe in Teriyaki marinade. When the flakes make it to the pan, being so small they cook very quickly a couple of minutes max. I have to say this is a marvellous way of eating the not so flavoursome fish such as hoki or large kahawai.
Once again, many thanks for sharing, posts such as yours are really appreciated.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by hbsurfcasttonz on 6/1/2015, 5:40 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
No problem Im the same with spots and I'm always going to different spots depending in weather and what not up and down the coast like a yoyo
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by GaryK on 6/1/2015, 6:43 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
Hangler sounds like you are still off the reef at Te Awanga if crabs are a problem. Try closer to the point, cast short and use mussells. You may be surprised with a big fat moki. The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 14/1/2015, 4:19 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
hbsurfcasttonz, visited Clifton this morning. I have to say it was one of those times that are truly special. I set out to deliberately target eagle rays, hopefully to catch a small specimen. Well it didn't take long in fact I got hammered and a very long run on the very first cast. After a spirited fight I landed a fish of about eight kilos, which was quickly despatched and the wings removed.
Not much later I hit a larger fish I just couldn't turn, so we agreed to go our separate ways. An hour later I had a small tope, this was returned to grow a bit. Then I hit a third ray, this fish I would estimate at six kilos.
It is frequently mentioned it's called fishing not catching, well this is one session I really enjoyed. I had great fishing in damn near perfect conditions, rays are always a challenge to land and they gave me a good workout. When I got home the wings were filleted off the cartilage and skinned. This was then treated with Teriyaki marinade and enjoyed for my evening meal. Not a hint of ammonia and the fish was simply delicious.
Thanks again for your hints on where to go, it paid dividends big time.
Incidentally all I used was a 30cm running trace complete with two 6/0 hooks in a whole anchovy. There was no activity from crabs and thankfully breakout leads were unnecessary, a three ounce scud sinker held perfectly.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by hbsurfcasttonz on 14/1/2015, 4:47 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
Yeah very nice fish I enjoy catching rays never eaten may need to try it some time my fave part is when they jump out of the water soon the killer whales will be in to clean them up and will have a chance if some nice snapper glad you enjoyed yourself
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by Hangler on 16/1/2015, 4:06 pm, in reply to "TeAwanga."
I gave Clifton another go this morning but conditions were very different to two days ago. The wind was straight off the sea, there was a reasonable surf and there was a lot of large weed fronds in the water ... however ...
Firs cast produced a solid take but the fish didn't return to complete act one. After half an hour one of the rods experienced a good pull down but the moment I set the hook I knew there was something wrong, I could feel the line rubbing on something nasty. Eventually the hook pulled and a quick check of the line quickly told the story if had been wrapped on foul ground. A short while later I have a good rattle and this produced a very nice eel, this is being jellied as I type.
At mid day my Veritas rod lent forward and stayed there. For various reasons I do not have a lot of confidence in this rod, however, today it was given a real workout, I might add the same went for me. I was sure this wasn't an eagle ray, it was simply brute strength and bloody ignorance. When the fish ran there was nothing I could do except apply as much side strain as my six kilo line would allow.
By the time I got the fish within twenty-five metres of the surf (15 minutes, I timed it) I was pretty sure with the back wash I was never going to get this fish on the beach. My partner was busy recording much of the action with a point and shoot camera, she could see the fish was beginning to tire, I was absolutely knackered. Eventually the fish came to the surface and I am confident this was a short tail sting ray, a brute of a fish, its topside virtually black.
I happily accept it is very difficult to estimate the weight of any fish and with it surfaced just the outside of the surf a guess would be about the best I could manage. I have caught rays to just over sixty pounds and this dwarfed my previous best effort. I would guesstimate between eighty and one hundred pounds and I had seen enough of it to decide to hold the spool and let it snap off.
It would have stressed the fish no end to bring it through the surf, only to be returned after a photo session. I would like to have had a record of my personal best, however, I was also relieved that at seventy-two I and the Veritas, handled the fight quite well.
Re: TeAwanga.
Posted by GaryK on 16/1/2015, 7:41 pm, in reply to "Re: TeAwanga."
Nice shot,The snapper don't know where the car park is! Sometimes it is better to travel than to arrive.
on 23/12/2014, 7:43 am
