Amberley Beach is a small seaside settle-ment consisting mainly of holiday baches. It is situated about 40 kilometres up the coast from Christchurch . I have found the main catch during the summer to be school shark. Large numbers of kahawai also put in an appearance, as do yellow eyed mullet. A bonus is that the beach is often covered with large tuatua which make excellent bait
Yabbie, or saltwater shrimp, is one of the best baits available for a wide range of species. I've used them successfully to catch flounder, red cod, tarakihi and rainbow trout. When it comes to catching yellow-eyed mullet for later use as surfcasting bait the yabbie is without peer!
Arriving at the beach, just south of Banks Peninsula , one day during the Christmas holidays I was greeted by the distant sight and sound of hundreds of screaming sea birds. After unpack-ing the car I hurried across the sand dunes to investigate the commotion.
For the second consecutive year I headed north from Christchurch to enjoy my annual Christmas holidays at the picturesque motor camp situated at the Golden Bay Holiday Park which is situated at Tukurua Beach, 18 kms north of Takaka and about 9kms from Collingwood.
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I own no fewer than five Alvey reels and would use no other for surfcasting. Their ruggedness and dependability in all conditions has to be experienced to be appreciated. They will keep going when other more complex reels have given up! On big fish they really come into their own being almost indestruct-ible.
Surfcasting is perhaps the most leisurely form of fishing there is. I often associate the sport of surfcasting with lazy summer days spent at the beach with the kids, especially over the Christmas holiday period. At such times we would pack up the car and head off for camping holidays at places like Mokihinui, Karamea, Ross and Hokitika, on the South Island's West Coast.
The barracouta were ignoring everyone's cut baits and heading straight for Jim's livies. They were only interested in a meal they had to chase first. Those that weren't impaling themselves on the hooks were busy chopping the mullet to threads.
This is an unusual Alvey reel in that it is geared whilst all other models are fixed centre pin reels. It has been engineered as a high-speed spinning reel for chasing seriously big fish like tailor, mackerel, and tuna from the rocks in Australia.
Blue shark caught surfcasting at Gentle Annie Beach, Mokihinui, on the South Island's West Coast.
The elephant fish is rather unusual. A large fleshy cartilaginous trunk protrudes from the snout and together with large wing-like pectoral fins combine to give a rather grotesque deformed appearance. The first dorsal fin has a large sharp folding spine.
Saltec Thumb Caster. This handy device protects your fingers and increases casting distance. The Saltec Thumb Caster is particularly useful with heavier sinkers up to 8 ounces.
