Monster topic! This is where the magic begins, your entire session and its outcome will be 100% based around your water selection in the surf. I have taken a still from the drone over the weekend to help explain two basic principles of fishing in the surf.

I will often refer to spots as ‘ambitious’… well whanau, the yellow line is about as ambitious as it gets! The yellow line represents clear and clean water “OTB” or ‘Out the Back’.

This is a fish highway, and you will catch fish every cast if you can hit it. Some days certain elements affect our ability to hit OTB, things like wind, chop, currents, tides and swells; but the yellow zone is always my priority and goal.

I consider the yellow ambitious because it requires risk and timing. The channel through the middle can require swimming, or at the least, she is chest deep and requires timing between swells to hit it. It also requires a very good eye for the surf to be able to read the subtitles and see a path to reach the ambitious water. From the water’s edge, you only see walls of wash and it all looks the same. The time in selecting a spot comes from watching the detail in the surf and looking for small definitions that highlight slight depth differences.

The blue lines in the image above are the path we used on this trip to wade out and get OTB in order to get a solid cast in. This is the best spot because there is a very subtle spur/ridge in the sand. The faint white foam through the middle of the channel between the lines indicates waves are breaching through this area, which shows its the shallowest part of the channel and therefore the best place to cross. Outside of the blue lines its too shallow to catch good fish during the day consistently, but way too deep to wade without risk (you will, however, catch fish in that water in the darkness of the night!)

But I get my thrills from catching good fish during the day, that’s all part of the challenge and what makes me tick!

Now, not everyone is 6-foot tall, not everyone can swim, and not everyone has youth on their side. The beauty of the 90 mile and other surf beaches is that the prevailing winds create current. Current moves sand and holes, and creates rips, which brings us to the area that is marked in red. This zone will provide good snapper and trevally fishing, and fishing this area is also really easy - essentially wading to your knees and letting fly. This is the spot where fishing your feet is bang on. The fish come right into these shoots and feed on the edge of the wash in the current. As the waves smash in and turn over the sand, the shellfish are getting bumped around and the fish know this. Generally, these areas produce “school fish” so your 1-4kg fish, but don’t rule out catching a thumper in this zone! In comparison, the yellow area (OTB) comes with greater risk, but also has more reward - you’ll average much bigger fish and hook plenty of those 5kg plus fish.

Bear in mind that ambitious is a different level for each person, so please always remember to fish with mates, look out for each other and stay safe. Always fish to your strengths and do it well. The ambitious areas with little to no swell are very easy to hit, and this is often when guys can cast too far. Always be mindful, although you want to get your cast OTB and in the zone, the hot bite zone is always following the back of the wash. There’s plenty more to this topic, but this is a very quick run down covering the techniques of identifying two different types of water and how to fish them.

Chur whanau see you on the beach this weekend!

- Chad Prentice

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