Two Waters Fishing NZ

Shallow offshore and harbour fishing rigs

Just like there are many ways to skin a cat there are also many ways to catch a dog 😅

Here a few examples of my go to harbour fishing rigs

Picture number 1, the Two Waters Fishing NZ harbour special, this rig is my go to for fishing shallow areas within the Tauranga harbour, it's an easy to tie no fuss rig. Changes can be made to sinker size depending on current flow and depth, (more current and depth calls for more weight as to keep that bait right in the lower section of the water column) I like to cast as far as I can out into the berley trail . A small clip on sinker can be added to the main line if you feel the bait isn't staying nicely along the bottom, the existing ball sinker will act as a stopper so the sinker doesn't slide all the way to the hook.

Picture number 2, the traditional strayline rig

This example is a classic , tried and tested trace,great with both mono and braided main line however with braid I always increase my trace line by a couple of metres, this adds a little stretch in the line and reduces transference of noise from boat to bait as braid can act much like a phone line and send vibrations and noise down the line directly to the fish (mono can do the same but braid is much worse) this rig is particularly good when coastal fishing in water from 1m to 10m+ it allows you to free line a bait directly down your falling berley trail. A nice big chunk of pilchard free falling down a berley trail is sure to get picked up by something 👌

Picture number 3 ,

this is a bit of a mix of the two above methods , some people call it a running rig. This rig serves well in a range of depths and currents , cast the mainline with bait out let the current pull your line out to about 30-35m then clip a clip on sinker on to the mainline, the sinker will slide down the line to the bottom and allow main line to move freely through the clip, this allows the bait to flow nicely along the bottom and move freely in the lower section of the water column where the big snaps like to cruise along searching for an easy snack, by having the sinker up the line and the line free flowing through the clip the fish is more likely to take the bait and not spit due to feeling minimal resistance from line rod and sinker

Recommended clip on sinker size per water depth for the running rig

1-2.5m *1oz clip on
2.5-4m *2oz clip on
4m-6m *3oz clip on

For deeper water and higher current up the sinker size

All these rigs work well with baitrunner/feeder reels but is not crucial to use this style of reel

Overview,

The rigs are all designed to give minimal resistance from rod to bait and keep the bait looking natural in the current

A bit of mucking around with these styles of rigs and you'll soon work out what works best for you and you'll get a feel for sinker sizes etc, there is no one "CORRECT" way to catch fish and I'm sure others have many other ways to go about it but this is what works well for me and I hope it's helpful to you as well,

Feel free to comment how you go about doing your rigs as I'm always keen to learn some new tricks and hear others experiences

Tight lines everyone 👌🍻

Shout out to my newest followers! Excited to have you onboard! Ian McNickle, Russell Berryman, Sarah Headley, Warren Thompson, Daniel Randall, William Stirling, Leon Hill, William Wright, Gary Newland, Hekemaru Haerehuka Brown, Lee Cowdery, Jamie Bowmar, Brad Gillespie, Keith Paton, Riley Eccleshall, Gershom Peter Mathai, Ethan Tait, Jono Francis, Sam Leef, Shane Wolfe, Harawira Smith, Jack Mortensen, Bob Harris, Nikki MacDonald, Theo Kleynhans, Von Alvin Caranza Gulla, Riley Delaveau, Paul Guitink, Tex Masters, Luke Walker, Te Rohe Ngatai, Ian Leslie, Leo Smith, Paul McCluskey, Rodney Logan, Daniel Parnwell, Neil P***y Lures Nicholls, Regan Ashton, Grant Simpson, Markus Kratzer, Ben Mendoza, Phil Cameron, Kalarn Mark, Akashdeep Singh, Kiefer Bland, Brian Martin, Anton Hopping, Jacson Shirlow, Ben Kevin, Aaron Moore

We're pretty lucky in this country to have such amazing spots right on our doorstep

Where's your happy place in nature??

Can't beat a flick for a mud fish(trout to the loyalists)

We have some amazing spots in the Bay of plenty