Surfcasting mission on the Canterbury coast that started with elephant fish in mind but turned into a solid gurnard session.

🎣 A Surprise Start

I had elephant fish in mind early on, so I started with paddle crab and cooked and raw prawn baits — all solid options for elephant fish. Soon after my first cast, I had a fish on, but soon realised it wasn’t very big. A small school shark had gone for the cooked prawn bait.

It wasn’t long before I had a fish on the second rod, and this time it put up a bit more of a fight. I was surprised to see a small gurnard appear in the surf — it had taken a raw prawn bait.

At 33cm it was a bit on the small side, so I decided to put it back. There’s not a lot of meat on a gurnard of that size.

Early morning gurnard

While returning the first gurnard to the sea, I noticed my other rod had gone slack — which often means a fish has picked up the bait and swum in. This time the fish felt a bit bigger, but I wasn’t entirely sure what it was. It was a welcome surprise to see another gurnard appear in the surf.

It had taken a paddle crab bait, which I hadn’t seen before — but it’s not surprising, given their stomachs are often full of small crabs.

Second gurnard of the morning

This one measured 37cm, so I decided to keep it for the table.

🥕 Carrot Mode

Hoping for more carrots (gurnard), I decided to send out a salted kahawai bait alongside the paddle crab. Oily fish baits such as kahawai, yellow-eyed mullet and pilchard are usually very effective for them.

In no time at all, I had another fish on. This one felt a bit heavier, and before long a nice 42cm gurnard appeared out of the surf.

Another gurnard — the biggest so far at 42cm

I was a bit surprised this gurnard had ignored the kahawai bait and gone for the paddle crab instead. That may have been partly due to the paddle crab being on the bottom hook, giving it a more natural presentation on the seabed.

🎣 Bycatch and More Bycatch

I kept persevering with both paddle crab and kahawai baits, hoping for more gurnard. But over the next couple of hours, all that turned up was a steady run of bycatch, including carpet sharks, dogfish and small school sharks.

Spiny Dogfish Bycatch

🥕 Another Wave of Gurnard

Around midday, after the cloud cover had cleared, I had a fish on that was putting a bit of headshake down the line. This is characteristic of gurnard, and my suspicions were confirmed when I landed my fourth gurnard of the trip.

Midday gurnard

I was hopeful there were more gurnard around, as they tend to move through in groups — and I didn’t have to wait long. Soon after, I had a double hookup. One rod had a dogfish on, while the other produced a nice surprise in the form of my fifth gurnard of the trip.

My next cast produced yet another gurnard! Unfortunately, both my chest camera and tripod camera overheated and stopped recording at the same time, which meant I didn’t get any footage of this catch.

Take-home gurnard catch

With five gurnard in the catch bag, I was more than happy with the day and decided it was time to head home.

There’s a catch-and-cook section at the end of my YouTube video for this session where I show how I prepare and cook a whole gurnard. It’s one of my favourite methods — the skin turns super crispy, and nothing goes to waste.

📓 Field Notes

• Location: Canterbury
• Target species: Elephant fish, rig shark, gurnard
• Landed: Gurnard, school shark, spiny dogfish, carpet shark
• Conditions: Light winds, 0.3m swell, coloured water improving through the morning
• Best bait: Fresh paddle crab, raw banana prawn and salted kahawai
• My gear: Shimano Xitus Pro 13'6" rods (x2), Shimano Ultegra CI4+ 14000 XTC reel, Shimano Ultegra XSD 14000 reel

🎥 Watch the Full Video

The full mission is available on my YouTube channel.

👉 Watch it on YouTube

Got any feedback or questions? Feel free to drop a comment on the YouTube video — I read them all.

— Dan