Inshore fishing or light lure tackle is a fun game, but you’ve got to set yourself up correctly to get the most out of it.
My essentials gear list for light lure fishing from the boat and land is as follows:
Medium-heavy soft bait:
Penn Clash 2 3000
Berkley Pro Spec Ultra 8 10lb
Berkley Vanish 30lb Fluro Trace
Penn Regiment 7’2 6-10kg, cast weight 10-74gm
I use this for 95% of my lure fishing from the boat, a medium-heavy soft bait set. I run two sets – both rigged and ready to go, so if I get a bust off, I pick up another one and keep fishing. I do big days on the water, and 75% of my trips are dawn till dusk. So it’s nice to have the backup set. Also, when fishing the shallows looking for big fish, you have to go heavy; you’ve got to put lots of pressure on big fish straight away and then get the boat on top of them, or you risk getting wrapped in the kelp. So a heavy soft bait set helps your cause no end.
Medium-light soft bait:
Penn Clash 2 2500
Owner Kizuna PE 1
Berkley Vanish 30lb Fluro
Penn Regiment 7’9 5-9kg, 10-50gm
My light set for casting smaller baits and lighter 1/4 ounce jig heads. If the water conditions are too clean and clear, I like the flexibility of dropping down a couple of weights and fish smaller baits if the fishing is slow. First off, it’s nicer to make repeated casts with a lighter set if the fish aren’t biting and second, going lighter can often be the trigger. I occasionally drop the fluorocarbon trace down to 20lb if I think I might make a difference, but why lose the fish you’ve spent all day trying to find?
The rods are very easy to love. Very light, but super strong with a fast recovery. I love the extra length on lighter rods; I’m all about getting that extra distance with casts when glass calm conditions.
Ultra-light soft bait:
Penn Clash 2 2500
Berkley Pro Spec Ultra X8 6lb
Berkley Vanish 10lb
Abu Garcia Veritas 7’8, 1-3kg ultralight
I use this set of rocks, beach and boat if the conditions are glamour, the water is gin clear – there is no better way to lure fish. You have to go ultra-light to stay in the game. And for land-based fishing around Auckland, where the fish are generally smaller and shy, it’s critical to have a set that can easily cast a 1/4 ounce jig head. With the right gear, you will significantly increase your catch rate, which is even more critical when land-based lure fishing.
Light landbased stick bait:
Penn Slammer 4000
Owner Kizuna PE 3
Berkley Vanish 40lb Fluro
Penn Regiment 9’2 6-10kg, 20-88gm
This set gets minor use, and if I’m brutally honest, I mostly take it when I’m going on holiday somewhere with the family. I love casting a lure, even just for half n hour off a pier or river mouth. The game aims are to relax rather than catch, and we usually only encounter Kahawai for our efforts. But if you are in a fishy spot, the set is more than capable of sorting out legal-sized kingfish off the bricks or northland wharf.
Casting lures is addictive and is a deadly way of catching fish. And nothing beats going for a quick shore cast at the local.
