FRESH BAITS FOUND
It was a big tide so the tide had 
sucked out exposing good sand 
banks and this is where you can find 
a few tuatua for fresh bait, always 
the best to attract trevally or snapper 
that feed on the shellfish in the surf.
However, today it was difficult to 
find any and the sheer number of 
seabirds such as oyster catchers and 
gulls had decimated the shellfish 
with empty shells scattered all over 
the beach.  As I had planned to get 
fresh bait and didn’t pack any other 
bait in the ute, I was thinking of 
heading back to the bach.  I soon 
stumbled across a couple of small 
crabs that were barely alive and 
decided to wrap them around the 
KLT hook with elastic cotton and 
have a cast.  It was worth a try as 
I have gutted plenty of fish caught 
when surfcasting on Ripiro Beach 
and found crabs in their stomachs.
After five minutes, I had a hit 
and waited, then another take as I 
wound up and yes, a fish was on!  It 
didn’t feel too heavy and the way 
it was acting I’m sure it was a small 
trevally, which have soft mouths, so 
I wound in carefully only for it to 
drop the hook.  Oh well, but what it 
showed me is fish will always go for 
natural baits that are found in their 
environment.  I would never usually 
think to try paddle crab as baits, but 
when forced to it surprised me.
Out on the west coast in the surf 
zone the main sources of food 
are long sand worms, tuatua, sea 
biscuits (sand dollars), paddle crabs 
and small fish like baby flounder.  
Large schools of mullet also cruise 
down the waves and kahawai are 
prevalent, which when both caught 
are turned into great snapper baits.
Catching large 50cm+ snapper 
off the beach and I have found 
whole baby flounder in their 
stomachs, smashed up crabs, 
tuatua, and sand dollars.  It pays 
to observe what you see on the 
beach when looking for signs where 
fish could be feeding out in the 
deeper channels, guts or holes.
Fishing a deeper gut off a sandbank at 
low tide is a good place to target with fish 
feeding or moving through this channel.
A trevally hit the writer’s 
first cast when using tuatua 
wrapped well with cotton.
Feature
22  FISHING IN GODZONE MAGAZINE

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