Cliff Andreassen lives on the beach: literally! There is little he does not know when it comes to tackling large tailor in the surf. He has kindly agreed to share his hard-earned knowledge and if you chase tailor from the sand anywhere in this country, you can’t ignore this information.

The Beach Obsession
After years of living on or near Queensland’s premier surf fishing beaches I have gleaned much about catching big tailor from the sand. This recreation developed after I was introduced to Teewah beach as a teenager. For some reason I found the fishing from beaches more enjoyable than stillwater or estuary fishing. The beach offers differing conditions each day and your tactics must be adapted to suit. The pursuit of the large tailor is the driving force behind my continual return to the beach. I live casting distance from the surf zone and the lessons I have learnt have enabled me to catch large tailor from many of our countries beaches; it is worth exploring some of my most valuable lessons.
Tailor Movements
Tailor usually start a northern migration prior to winter in New South Wales and continue through to early summer in the northern extremity of their run. Although this is often considered to be the northern tip of Fraser Island, tailor are known to go much farther north. For example, good schools have been found around the southern reaches of the Great Barrier Reef at 1770. I have observed that the early tailor arrivals are usually small and will appear in many locations at the same time. I believe these fish are from the local breeding grounds as additional fish join the schools from local spawning around the estuaries in Queensland. As the fish migrate north over the months the size increases. With fish on Fraser Island I generally notice approximate increase in sizes by 0.5 kg each month. The larger fish appear in numbers in early summer with some of the best tailor catches being recorded on northern Fraser Island as late as December. However you cannot conclude this is the only time to catch large tailor. They are caught all through the year at different locations but may not be caught in large numbers in early months. The majority of fish are considered to return in the southern migration via a wider and deeper current. A proportion of these fish as they become larger appear to become localised in various locations and stay throughout the whole of the year.

Alvey reels make light work of saltwater spray thanks to their durable construction.

Tailor Habits
Tailor follow a current and food source in their northern migration and can be observed to stop in a location for many days while moving north. When they remain in a location they appear to run in on the banks and gutters daily. The length of the feeding varies and can be very short at times. Having caught fish on one day, I find that the next day they will often arrive up to an hour later: for example, on the same stage of the tide of the previous day. Then without notice they will often move on and the search begins again. I have also observed on occasions that fish become very active on the start of a strong south-easterly wind. This south-easterly seems to signal to the fish to have a big feed as the migration is about to commence again. As a general rule, tailor will feed best on the beach at dusk or dawn but not necessarily both periods every day. If after catching tailor in the mornings for a few days you lose them, they may have changed (due to tide and moon advancement) to feeding in the evenings. I however do not rely on large tailor feeding just during dawn and dusk periods; instead I target big tailor around the best times as recorded in fishing almanacs. Having said this I prefer to target larger fish a few hours after the turn of tide. A falling tide at dawn or dusk has produced plenty of big fish for me.
Beach Structure
Choosing a location for fishing is very important and an angler’s eyes are key tools for identifying prime locations. Colour changes in the water and the way waves roll or break often depict changes in the depth of local water. Finding some form of deeper water where tailor can target bait with some cover are key ingredients to finding them.
Tailor often have to traverse outer sand banks along the surf zone to enter into deeper gutters near the beach to feed; they prefer to enter gutters that have a large outlet to the deeper water or most preferably, one at both ends. They will rarely come into dead spots and be trapped. Under white water around the sand banks and rolling white water over deeper areas are prime places to find the large fish. Very often these larger fish are lone travellers or moving in the company of a school of smaller fish. Try to choose water that is within your casting reach. Catches often improve with a westerly due to the angler’s ability to cast further. The reduction in the swell to allow water to roll over a bank in the westerlies also increases the angler’s chances. In these conditions you may well be able to sight the fish on the back banks. Having seen distant tailor it is well worth persevering as some time later these fish may come over the bank to feed. The prevailing wind for much of summer is often the north-easterly. This wind makes for tough beach fishing conditions, however, I have caught some of my larger tailor on this wind; it pays to persevere with tough conditions sometimes!
Other strategies can be used when searching for good fishing locations. It often pays to keep an eye on fish and bird activity along the beach. Flocks of birds often indicate the presence of schools of feeding fish. We often drive the beaches on the low tides to pick a location that may work later that evening. These areas are often steeper beach faces and recording their locations in a GPS will allow you to come back to exactly the same point in the dark of night.
Tailor Tackle & Tactics
Selection of gear is a personal choice and I believe there are many successful combinations. I recommend combinations that include 4 to 5 m surf rods; a side cast reel and 6 to 10 kg of monofilament line. My favourite outfit these days includes a 700 Alvey Drag matched with a Gary Howard 5 m surf rod and I stick with the Platypus lines: Super 100 or Lo-Stretch. I generally have several rods with me and I will set them up differently for a night fish. That way I am rarely re-rigging in the dark. Try different size rods and reels until you find a combination you are comfortable with. To experience success on large tailor you have to be comfortable with all aspects of the gear which includes casting, holding the weight and controlling the fight. I select a rather whippy rod as it allows me to easily feel a bite and the flex in the rod provides some shock absorption when the fish decides to go in a different direction than you intend.
My tailor surf fishing technique includes casting a bait to the water that looks most likely to hold feeding tailor at a particular stage of the tide. I prefer a bait to move a little in the area that it is placed. However, if local sweep moves the bait away from my preferred location within minutes of it being positioned, it is time to start increasing the sinker weight. Occasionally, a slow retrieve will produce results when the stationary bait is drawing blanks. My tackle box contains sinkers including 4 ball to a whopper 10 ball models and rigs of 2 to 4 hooks (swivel rig or gang). Common rigs for pilchard baits include four 4/0 hooks ganged together. My choice when using flesh baits is a 5/0 connected to a 2/0 (by a swivel if necessary). I generally add a small length of wire for the shorter rigs (say 150 mm long) and some 20 to 40 kg leader before the sinker. Always use good quality swivels and leader. Platypus Hard Alloy has survived all the tests I have put it through.
Tailor will take a bite in a variety of ways; this is often related to the mood in which you find them. We have all experienced the tailor feeding in a frenzy when they pick up the bait and run straight at you. Others give one almighty bite as they are running away. Quite often large tailor are just slowly grazing and only a small bite is detected. Don’t ignore subtle enquiries as they often turn into large fish. An important tip when first starting to fish for tailor on the beach is to leave a bait in position until you feel the full weight of a fish loading the rod tip. Having hooked a fish, allow the rod, the stretch of the line and a little drag to do the work. Try to be patient as tailor will fight well and use the wash of the ocean to their advantage. Work the fish to the base of the beach and then use the timing of a wave surge to wash the fish up into the shallows.
Tailor can sometimes be seen feeding in big schools along the outer edge of the surf zone. It is often impractical to try and cast a bait this far, but these fish can sometimes be reached when using a heavier lure. Popular lures include metal varieties such as Raiders or Spanyids. Poppers are often used very effectively if conditions are right. However, as we seek larger tailor at night the effectiveness of lures and poppers is reduced.

Conclusion
You will find fishing to be enjoyable if your gear and plan are well considered. Remember that the beach does not always provide an instant result but needs hours and days of patience before the large tailor come to the party. In the meantime settle in and enjoy the peace and quiet of the beach and the friendship of your fellow anglers.

Kicking on into the night can be well-worth the effort.