Planning a big fishing trip?

11 ways to bring success.

I get so excited planning trips, it’s not that I don’t enjoy my day job, it’s just the thought of heading to new locations and having a great experience alongside great mates. A large portion of success for any trip is in the preparation, not just throwing a dart at a map and tossing a line and hoping, actually studying maps and trying to find something special that many have overlooked. Considering techniques you have used in the past and thinking of ways you can improve them to increase success.

We all have spots close to home for casual fishing. Generally these trips are not planned, and are just a fantastic excuse to get out of the house when time allows. Each year I plan several big trips away which include a variety of species and challenges. There’s hardly anything better to get you through the day at work than thinking about how you’re going to slay it on the next trip. Consistent success during these trips is no fluke, lots of work goes into planning, studying maps, working out exactly what you want to target and executing a good plan. No matter how great your plan is though, it’s not going to happen if you’re not in the right place at the right time. In the early years, I had some less than memorable trips. Slow fishing and hard work, but I learnt from these and I've taken plenty away. Now there are several things I consider when planning a trip. Fishing these days isn't a cheap exercise, so you want to get things in your favour to be as successful as possible and make the most of the time!

11. A Great Camera

So many guys go fishing and have little to show for it other than mushy fillets to hand out on return. Taking photos always seems like a hassle at the time, but I assure you, it’s definitely appreciated later on. Cameras these days are really cheap, and using your phone with a layer of gunk over the lens just doesn't cut it. The photos are usually blurry and rarely do any justice on a great memory. A little tip with photography; try to utilise the sun to light your subject and watch out for the shadow of the person taking the photo. The natural light of the sun really highlights colours in the fish and dulls out shadows. Even in bright sunlight, never be afraid to use a flash, it’s not just for dull conditions, it helps to full out the shadows and create a nice bright photo. Remember, it didn't happen if you don’t have a photo.

10. Untouched spots

Its pretty self explanatory, if thrashed spots produced extraordinary fishing, there would be no need to plan a special trip, sitting at the local wharf would be just as sufficient. The more pressure locations get the less consistent they become, so it’s about finding hidden gems and making an effort to get to areas that have less human encounters. A hobby of mine is looking for islands and finding ways to get to them, often using a small inflatable boat or kayak will get to these sorts of locations. The sort of untouched spots I look for when surfcasting are usually undesirable at a glance; small pockets of sand situated between reefs, or hard to get to areas that give a sense of satisfaction just arriving at these special spots.

9. Moon

One of many aspects to take into consideration. I’m not sure why but there are periods during the moon phase that certainly brings on a much stronger and longer bite than others. In particular, I like the week leading into the full moon, right up to about a day each side of the full moon is great fishing, and equally as good as it falls away again. I don’t know the science behind this, but it’s a fairly clear observation after fishing for many years. Obviously, any day can still produce the goods, but its just one thing I try to line up when planning those special trips away.

8. Tides

Tides are important. Slack tides (known as small tides, which are affected by the moon), bring minimal tidal movement and flow, and often this will slow down the bite times of fish. A much smaller mass of water moves over the same tidal period, so unless the conditions are rough, very little food is disturbed naturally and the fishing can be very difficult. By planning a trip around larger tides, you are not relying on rougher water to bring the fish on, as the large volume of water can often distribute enough debris to bring on a hot bite more consistently. There are many web pages to get a good gauge on water coefficients, the higher the coefficient, the better.

7. Time of year

There are two consistent times for planning a fishing trip in New Zealand, the first is late spring (late October-November), which brings on a large surge in rising water temperatures. This is the start of baitfish moving around, crayfish in softshell and general life underwater starting to hit full swing. Almost every species of inshore fish respond well to this time of the year, from Blue Moki fishing and Snapper to chasing Kingfish.

The second effective time is Autumn (March, April and May). In March, fish numbers across many species are very good but generally, the size of the fish may be smaller. As we get deeper into Autumn fish numbers decrease slightly, but the size of the fish increase dramatically. March is usually a very settled time for weather throughout New Zealand no matter where you are planning on heading, so always a great option! In May, the weather plays a huge part in success, but the risks can bring huge rewards in trophy-sized fish.

6. Gear

I’ve learnt the hard way over the years. The difference between a good day and an average day (there is no such thing as a bad day) can come down to small moments. Nothing is more frustrating than gear failure. If a fish beats you by taking you to ground, wraps you on structure or spools you, I can live with that, the fish was better than I was and schooled me. What I struggle with is knowing my leader knot was average, looking at it all day thinking “I should probably change that”, only to hook a monster and regret being too lazy. You owe it to yourself to make sure your hooks are sharp and your gear is ready to go!

5. Know your species

It’s a big trip, so hopefully you’ve worked out what species are available so you can target them specifically and increase your chances. Some species are very fussy and require certain baits like shellfish and crustaceans, without them it’s going to be tough work. Another example is kingfish, taking plenty of balloons, spinners and sabiki rigs to target live baits. To take it to the next level is packing a stick-baiting set, a variety of colours in different lures, generally, blues and pinks work well. When your live-bait is sitting out there, throw your lures around and create noise and general disturbance. Kingfish are inquisitive and this can bring them in for a sniff. If you’re going fishing, identify what you’re targeting and take a few options to cover all your bases to give yourself the best chance.

4. Day and Night time fishing

When it comes to land-based fishing, there is no better time to target trophy fish than in the tranquillity of total darkness, snapper is a prime example of this. It’s an aspect not many do or know much about. But from experience, most of the big twenty pound plus snapper I've landed from rocks and beach have been around tide changes in the middle of the night. Low tide off the rocks and high tide off the beaches. Perhaps access has something to do with those specific tides, but if there is one thing to take out of this, unless you‘re targeting pelagic species like Kahawai, Kingfish and Trevally, focus on fishing during the night and leave the day fishing alone. One of the most magic times of the night for me over the years has been around that 1am to 2am mark. The downside to night fishing is there can be a lot of sharks around, so you can lose gear. One thing I've found over the years though, is where there are sharks, there are often very good fish lurking not far away, just be patient.

Another key aspect of this is ensuring you are quiet, this might sound silly to some of you, but sound is amplified underwater, and during the night when everything is still and quiet, sound sticks out just that little bit more. Try not to bang things around and yell, it’s not so important when surfcasting, but it makes a huge difference on the rocks fishing in close. My pet hate with night fishing is guys who leave their headlamps on, full brightness on the water, accentuated when going from rod-to-rod like they are watching a game of tennis. If you’re fishing at night, keep your use of lights to a minimum and off the water, it spooks the wary fish and turns off the bite. It’s a small thing, but it makes a difference, and every bit of assistance helps.

3. Bait and Burley

It still amazes how people plan a trip months out, then go and buy some old crusty bait with yellow flecks from the servo for their big trip. You spend hundreds on fishing rods, tackle, fuel, time off from work and spend valuable brownie points nestled away from months of slavery only to buy mediocre bait. If you’re planning a big trip, take the time to buy the best bait you can, or harvest some fresh bait from the ocean. Supermarkets these days sell food-grade squid, fresh prawns (poor mans’ crayfish), green-lipped mussels, and if you enjoy diving, put aside the paua huas, a couple of crayfish and fresh octopus if you can get them. A real important part of fishing is having great bait that’s well looked after and equally presented well. Fresh is best!

2. Maps and Public access

In modern times, mapping systems like wams.org.nz or basemaps.linz.govt.nz provide knowledge of all public access tracks including detailed maps of the foreshore which give you a great insight into any location you’re contemplating as a possible destination. It’s a great tool to find rocky outcrops hidden around the corner from the usual spot without actually have to walk there. I have used it to find several fantastic spots I currently frequent. Likewise with surfcasting locations, being able to look at the entire beach on a detailed map from above is a huge help. It gives you a clear overview of possible structures and natural attractions for fish as well as working out where there is most likely to be good current moving through. I can’t stress enough, successful trips require homework, and there is no better place to start than studying maps.

1. Attitude

As silly as this sounds, to me this is the biggest key to success, “attitude”. It doesn't matter if I'm on the wharf fishing for piper, or waiting on the water’s edge after deploying a live-bait, my attitude is always positive, and I genuinely believe I'm going to slay. I may not show it, regardless I always feel like something special is about to happen. It motivates me to change baits and throw lures and more often than not, it does happen. If you attempt something half-hearted, half-hearted results become your best friend. If you do your homework, make a solid plan and genuinely believe in everything you've put in place, great results follow. It’s amazing how much this impacts on your results.

Best of luck,

Chad Prentice

11 Ways to bring Success When Fishing (Chad Prentice)