A fun day setting the kontiki and a bit of surfcasting off Muriwai

A slow but fun morning setting the kontiki and flicking a few baits into the surf

With Stevo coming up from Tauranga and having a few hours spare yesterday morning he decided to throw the kontiki and surfcaster in the car for a catch up fish along Muriwai beach. Arriving at mine just before 7.00 we packed the truck and made our way, making our way over the dune we arrived to calm waters and zero wind.

It was a good forecast with light semi cross-offshore winds and a swell under a meter - it was a perfect setting for a few hours fishing the beach. We arrived close to low tide which I love to surfcast, this allows me to fish my banks I love to stand on and cast into deeper channels. By the time we set the Kontiki I would probably only get an hour or two as the rising tide quickly pushes you off these spots. Best time to get there is about 2hrs before the low, this will give you a good 3-4hrs sometimes depending on the swell and tide height.

Making our way North we decided to save time and wanting to flick a few baits we stopped only a few K's up, we like to fish further North as we have a few spots we like to fish and the beach gets a little deeper quicker the further you go. While Stevo sorted out the first part of the Tiki I grabbed my surfcaster to set up, we had found a nice little channel that I know would hold fish but more so while dark. These places I love to fish just before light or dark, fish come into these places feeling safe hovering up crabs, worms and all sorts before getting to shy in the sunlight.
I helped Stevo finish off baiting and setting the Tiki out, once it was sorted on the soak I baited up and flicked out my first bait. Even though the sun was up I knew the trusty old Kahawai would be around but I know also Trev's love feeding in these channels and aren't as shy as Snaps. Sure enough with in a couple of mins the rod buckled and in came the first fish of the morning, even though it was just a Kahawai it was fun to catch and it gave us some fresh bait if we wanted to do a second soak.

Flicking out my second bait once again it didn't take long and I was into my next fish, I was using a flasher rig with mutsu hooks (re-curve like hooks) which I don't use much but were working great with fish hooking themselves on the lift of the rod - This one felt a little different, more like a Snap. I could see that pinky red flash in the waves, only small but it was good to see that this little channel was holding snapper which I knew it would. It was take-able at around 30-32cm but a little to small for us so back it went.
There was plenty of fish holding in this channel but the tide was rising fast and pushing us further away from our spot, we had bites constantly and just before Stevo fired up the Tiki I tried one last bait. Wading out a little I flicked it out and stood at the ready, the bites were pretty much instant with a couple of little taps then the rod loaded up. I slowly lifted and with the rod staying bent I struck in hope the mutsu's would do their job. It stayed bent and as the fish fought back I knew I was hooked up and hooked up to something better, with it being bright I thought it would be a Trev but no I could tell it was a Snap.

Once again the pinkish color pared through the surf and a nice little Snap washed up on the shoreline, it was a nice fish at around 55cm not bad for off the sand. Stevo had fired up the Tiki, it had been only soaking for about 30-35mins unlike our usual 50mins we like to do, it didn't feel to heavy and as the hooks came in most were all still baited. We managed a couple of Snaps, Kahawai and a carrot which added to our morning tally and although the fishing was a little slow it was another awesome fishing sesh up Muriwai.

I just love fishing this beach and even on a day that doesn't produce much for me it doesn't matter - just getting a line wet with a mate and spending time on the beach is what it's all about and a fish in the bin is just a bonus.

Tight lines

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