But most anglers lack the money to buy even a fraction of what’s available (nor do they have partners willing to put up with all this ‘nonsense’!), and those that do find they can’t safely stow all that gear onboard most boats. So it pays to choose fishing tackle combos that are reasonably multi-purpose. These will allow anglers to participate in most of the fishing situations encountered without cluttering the boat too much.
The following four multi-purpose combinations will cover most fishing scenarios…
The 2.13–2.44m (7-8ft) 6-10kg stray-line outfit
Most anglers enjoy fishing unweighted or lightly weighted baits in relatively shallow water (typically up to around 20m deep, but much deeper if the term ‘stray-lining’ is stretched to mean ‘just enough added weight to get down’). Stray-lining makes the bait appear to be wafting down naturally and is not only extremely effective, it’s also a lot of fun, especially if using reasonably light tackle.
The other key to effective stray-lining is the ability to cast lightly weighted baits well away from the boat – the boat’s shadow and the ‘scary’ noises from inside it can cause bigger, warier fish to hang well back. This is especially true if the water is reasonably clear and less than 20m deep.
To achieve casting distance, choose a reasonably long rod with a light, forgiving tip and a reel capable of casting lightly weighted baits a decent distance from the boat, such as…
Option 1: A 2.13m to 2.44m fast-actioned, light-tipped spinning rod accompanied by a 6000-8000 size ‘baitrunner’ style reel loaded with 200-300m of 6-10kg braid or monofilament nylon.
Option 2: A similar rod in an overhead/free-spool configuration (but slower in action if you want to use mono line), combined with a ‘casting free-spool’ reel. Reels are typically modest in size (#12-30) and feature a lightweight spool with a thumbing shoulder. Good examples include the Daiwa SL20SH or SL30SH or Shimano Torium 16 or 20.
Using short rods tends to ‘flick’ the bait when casting, which equals ‘backlashes’ in free-spool reels, so for relatively trouble-free casting choose long, flexible rods.
Other uses:
• Catching baitfish on sabiki flies (although the rod’s relative stiffness will result in some mackerel and koheru ripping off the hooks
• Casting 28-40g lures for kahawai or small tuna
• Trolling spinners, jigs and small minnows/plugs for the same species
• Jigging 40-100g lures for snapper, trevally, kahawai and kingfish (especially using braid).
The 2.13m to 2.44m (7-8ft) 10-15kg bait-fishing outfit
Although this outfit can assume many of the same duties as the lighter outfit described above, it tends to be used when targeting bigger, stronger fish and/or when the seafloor is very foul and unforgiving. It’s also good for fishing ledger-type rigs (i.e. flasher rigs) with heavy sinkers (up to 10oz/284g) in deep water with strong currents.
Option 1: A fast-actioned 2.13m to 2.44m spinning rod rated 10-15kg, accompanied by a ‘bait-runner’ style reel in 8000-12000 sizes loaded with 200-300m of 10-15kg monofilament nylon or 15kg braid.
Option 2: The same length rod in an overhead configuration, combined with (ideally) a casting-capable free-spool reel filled with 10-15kg nylon or 15kg braid.
Other uses:
• Trolling 40-120g spinners or bibbed minnows for kahawai, small tuna or medium-sized kingfish
• Jigging for big snapper or school kings with 100-250g lures (especially if using braid)
• Casting 40-100g spinners or poppers for kahawai, small tuna and kings.
The 2.32m to 2.6m 5-10kg lure outfit
The high price of bait and berley is encouraging many anglers to try alternatives such as soft-baits, jigs and spinners. After
a productive session or two, many never go back to ‘smelly’ bait.
The following outfits have soft-bait fishing primarily in mind, but as you will shortly learn, they can be pretty versatile.
Option 1: In this case it really is worth selecting a long, 2.32m–2.6m (7’6” to 8’6”) soft-bait rod rated 5-10kg, accompanied by a good quality 3000-5000 size spinning reel loaded with 200-300m of suitable superbraid. Such rods cast further allowing you to cover more area, handle the line better, and hook up more efficiently, while the reels carry enough line to handle the biggest snapper in the ocean and even the odd decent kingfish provided you have the patience skill and a little luck – and your knots are good enough.
Option 2: A rod with similar length and power in overhead configuration, combined with a small free-spool or large baitcaster reel, each ideally filled with at least 200m of 7-10kg (15-20lb) braid. While such combos will not cast light jig-heads as far as spinning outfits, especially in cross- or head-winds, they provide much better contact with soft-baits in deeper water when the lures are descending.
Other options:
They are great candidates for jigging with lighter slow-pitch or flutter-type jigs.
These rods are also okay for use with slow-jigs, but avoid casting heavier jigs (a gentle lob only), as most soft-bait rods are not built to handle such weights. Many slow jigs weigh over 60g.
They can make great micro-jig rods, especially with lures weighing 14-30g (you can also treat micro-jigs like soft-baits, casting them out and gently hopping them back across the bottom).
Also perfect for casting small 10-30g spinners at feeding kahawai and skipjack tuna – lots of fun!
The 15-24kg or 24-37kg ‘jigging’ outfit
This heavy-duty outfit will be somewhat optional for most boaties, but the mighty kingfish has plenty of devoted fans and the following gear suggestions will provide the means to catch them.
Option 1: A heavy-duty spinning outfit is a very efficient jigging tool, with the advantage that the reel automatically lays the line on the spool in an even manner without requiring input from the angler. Suitable reels should hold at least 200m (but 250-300m is better) of 24-37kg braid, with a retrieve ratio of around 5:1 (more than 6:1 and mechanical jigging becomes an even tougher physical proposition). As for the rod, it needs to be quite short (around 5’6”/1.7m) and rated for the same line weights. Finally, if you’re getting on in years like me, it’s an advantage to have a rod that folds away (bends) upon hooking up, effectively shortening its length to provide more leverage.
Option 2: My own preference is for gear in the same line class in an overhead configuration, ideally combining a large-diameter, narrow-spooled reel with a retrieval rate of around 4.5-5:1 and a matching overhead jig rod. This is perfect for mechanical jigging and for fighting big, powerful fish.
Other options:
Can be used as a pretty decent live-baiting outfit, or for trolling bibbed minnows – but ensure the butt section has EVA protection and back off the drag slightly to avoid breaking the rod off in the rod holder when a big fish strikes.
Not a bad option for baited rigs and 24-30oz weights in places like the Kaipara’s high-current Graveyard!
Useful for targeting deep-water fish such as bass, hapuku and bluenose with baits and lures in of 200-250m of water, but reels holding at least another 100m of line are better (you could be fishing in 300-400m of water). It is also worth noting that most free-spool jigging reels lack harness lugs, making deep-water battles especially tough.
Tight lines everyone.
