Cast Until It Hurts - Trophy Kings Off the Rocks | Gene Bryant, Strictly Landbased

Gene Bryant is New Zealand's only land-based fishing charter skipper — a Whitianga local who grew up watching his dad pioneer the land-based scene in the early '90s, and never looked back. Gene runs Strictly Land Based, taking clients to the remote rocks and ledges that most fishermen only dream about, chasing trophy snapper and kingfish with stickbaits and topwater lures off the kind of coastline that'll make your knees shake.

In this episode, Nick and Gene dive deep into what it actually takes to fish off the rocks — the big walk-ins with a pack full of gear, the boat runs to spots you can't reach any other way, and why casting when you're tired is exactly when the fish show up. Gene shares the tactics behind reading structure, rigging for kingy and snapper off the rocks, and why topwater will always be his first love.

Then there's the stories. A 20kg kingy on the second cast. A yellowfin tuna that went absolutely ballistic just around the corner from Whitianga. Six trips chasing GTs in Rarotonga — and one fish lost to the coral that still haunts him. Gene also brings out his dad's old fishing DVDs from the late '90s, proof of a land-based legacy that's been passed down through the generations — and is now being handed on to his own kids.

A land-based marlin is still on the bucket list — and when it happens, he'll be back.

✅Gene Bryant @strictlylandbased (IG)

✅YouTube @strictlylandbased123

✅ Book a chater +64224778157

(00:00) [The Land-Based Legacy]

Gene's dad pioneered it in the '90s — DVDs, sponsors, and all.

(00:10) [Spots Nobody Else Can Reach]

Boat runs and big walk-ins to Whitianga's most remote coastline.

(00:20) [20kg Kingy Then a Yellowfin]

A boys' trip that turned into one of Gene's best ever sessions off the rocks.

(00:30) [Six Trips Chasing Rarotonga GTs]

Why he keeps going back, and eight days of casting with absolutely nothing.

(00:40) [Rigging & Reading Structure]

The tactics Gene uses to put clients on trophy snapper and kings from remote ledges.

(00:50) [Saltiga, Lures & the Bucket List]

The rapid fire — plus the one species Gene is still hunting.

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🎵 Music Used

✅ Proctor, Topher Mohr & Alex Elena

✅ Satellites, Swello

✅ Momentum, Zplit

✅ Source (YouTube Audio Library)

🎥 Production Notes

✅ Shot on: Sony A7iii + Sennheiser Mics

✅ Edited in: Adobe Premiere Pro

✅ Shot, Edited & Produced by Nick Hoyle